Adoption: Asura's Legacy Sage Chronicles
by Professor Image
Summary: Up for Adoption.


For a variety of reasons I now find myself at an impasse. I feel as if I've come as far as my meager writing skills is capable, and loathe to continue when I don't feel I can personally give a story one hundred percent, I've decided to leave the fates of my many works of fiction to other, more capable authors.

Anyone and everyone are allowed to adopt my stories. There are no restrictions, no limitations. Write a continuation, if it so pleases you, or a rewrite, or even completely desiccate the story if you wish. It doesn't matter to me. If you think you can do better, just prove it. Write.

Ta.

Professor Image.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Naruto franchise. The Naruto franchise is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. The only things that I own are original characters, original themes, and original plots. I wrote this story with entertainment purposes in mind. I have made no monetary gain off of this work of fiction. Please do not sue.

Summary: Destiny fulfilled, he ventures into another world, not as Naruto Uzumaki, but as Asura, the Legendary Son of the Sage of Six Paths.

Enjoy:

Asura's Legacy: Sage Chronicles

A Naruto Fanfiction by

Professor Image

Chapter I:

"Enter, Stage Left"

XXX

Deep within the forest, where the trees grew so tall that they blotted the sun and made day seem like pitch night, there existed a little forest grove. The grove played host to a small pool of water, made all the more odd by the fact that the pool was not actually filled with _water_ but in reality liquefied Natural Energy. The grove itself was a haven for Senjutsu, and was a gift from the Rikudou Sennin himself, who connected the pool to the very planet itself so that this primordial forest in the back waters of Fire Country could grow.

Here, untouched by the sword and war, the forest grew in peace. Very few ventured into the forest itself, instinctively understanding the blasphemy of walking amongst the foliage and fauna and disturbing the delicate harmony. It was a safe haven to ancient prehistoric creatures and plants that had long since been lost to the rest of the world.

Growing out from the pool of liquid Natural Energy was a single tree, which the natives from the three villages surrounding the immense forest called the "World Tree". It was quite simply and utterly massive, dwarfing some of the mightiest trees that even the Legendary Hashirama Senju himself had created in his lifetime. It truly appeared as if it was the focal point of the world, as even in the distance the villages surrounding the forest could see the tree at the very depths of the forest. It was connected to the pool of liquid Natural Energy, forming a symbiotic bond as the tree siphoned Natural Energy from the planet into the pool and then fed on the pool to grow and live. It was a natural wonder of the world, and one of the Rikudou Sennin's greatest achievements: an offering to the Shinju Tree for his Blasphemy.

However, what few could understand, even if they had the fortune to visit the tree itself, was its connection to the very fabric of reality. Vaulted as the father of modern ninjutsu and a master of ALL the ninjutsu arts, the Sage of Six Paths, the man known as Hagoromo Otsutsuki had studied more than just the basic Five Elements and sub elements, more than just the Sage techniques, the workings of life and death, gravity and the Yin and Yang. The tree itself represented one of the Rikudou Sennin's greatest achievements, not because of its sheer size or its connection to the very Earth, but because of its connection to the very fabric of reality.

Even as he approached death, Hagoromo had been studying more than just his previously learned fields. And in the waning years of his life he had eventually transcended all of time and space. For his death did not mark his end, merely the removal of his soul from the physical world and venturing into the recesses of Time and Space. Hagoromo was Legendary, not because of his power or achievements, but simply because of his pure brilliance.

Underneath the massive branches of the tree, some hundred meters from the pool's waters, there was placed a hollow in the trunk of the tree. However, no life existed there, as inside the hollow the swirling vortex of all of Time and Space churned relentlessly forever more.

Our tale, then, begins not with a bang, but a splash. Almost inconspicuously, the churning swirl of the hollow was disturbed as a ripple formed in its vaporous surface. Then, quite suddenly, a man was spat from its depths into the empty air.

Almost as if he had expected his sudden appearance nearly a hundred meters from the lake waters, the man reversed his fall with nary a thought and _floated_ down upon the cool waters of the lake whereupon he settled into a slight crouch, standing firm on the waters as if he was standing on solid land.

As the man adjusted, he slowly stood to full height, turning around to look up at the World Tree with an expression of deep reverence and thanks. A silent salute later saw then man turning and stepping onto dry land.

In the darkness of the forest the man's features were indistinguishable, and yet it appeared as if the man knew his way around regardless of the lack of light. Curiously, despite the lack of illumination, the man's brilliant azure gaze was as apparent as the World Tree itself, burning luminously in the darkness like two blue suns in the depths of space.

After nearly a hundred millennia, the quiet of the grove was broken as the man spoke.

"So far so good," said the man quietly, his voice a whisper in the dark. It was a deep sound, aged and a tad sad. "I hope the old man was right about this…" he sighed.

With a faint whisper of fabric the man called forth his power and filled his body with it, and then suddenly vanished. Thus, the grove became silent once more.

XXX

With a sudden distortion in the air, he appeared suddenly upon a familiar mountain looking over an equally familiar village. It took only a few seconds for him to recover from the uncomfortable feeling of using Kamui to teleport, but he was always very adaptable. He supposed that a lot of his discomfort with the Jikukan ninjutsu was his own unfamiliarity with it, since his preferred method of travel was the Hiraishin Jikukan ninjutsu, since it was much faster and didn't possess the distorting bodily effects that the Kamui possessed.

On the other hand, though, he knew that the Hiraishin could only teleport to a place that had the Jikukan's seal, whereas the Kamui could teleport anyone to any place that its user had memory of, regardless of seals.

It was most effective for teleporting to his home village, regardless of the fact that he was displaced in time and space.

The man stood proudly overlooking the image of what he recognized as his home village before the war that had utterly destroyed it. He knew that he was standing atop the head of the Yondaime Hokage, one of his favorite places in the village and one that he had memorized extensively from how often he visited it. So far, there didn't appear to be much different from this village and the one from his memory.

Actually, the man amended that thought when he realized that there was a fifth head on the mountain next to the one he was standing on. After throwing down a Hiraishin kunai onto the spot he was standing and jumping off the Yondaime's head he realized that the fifth face was familiar too.

Teleporting back to the Yondaime's head, the man retrieved his kunai and thought briefly on the discovery.

_The old man said that he was intending to send me to a point in time before I made contact with Kurama, but from where I'm standing it seems that he miscalculated, or that this is one of those differences between our two universes that he mentioned_, the man thought, sitting down in a lotus position as he overlooked his home village.

"_Hagoromo can't plan for everything, Naruto," _a deep voice spoke up in the man's thoughts, identifying the man as "Naruto". _"There are bound to be things that he couldn't predict, no matter how powerful or knowledgeable he is. That's the problem with being mortal; everyone has their faults."_

"Naruto" closed his eyes, nodding his head in agreement with his tenant's words. _I know that, Shinju,_ he identified the second voice in his mind, _It's just disconcerting to imagine that there could be such massive changes as Tsunade being Hokage even when I was in the Academy…_

"_Worst things can happen," _Shinju grumbled, a little annoyed with "its" human's grim thoughts, _"You need to suck it up and keep going. This is the second chance that you wanted; one where you can be with your friends again; complaining about a slight hitch in the road won't do you any good, boy…"_

_You're right, of course_, "Naruto" felt a fond smile tugging at his lips. Though he had never wanted to play host to the Shinju, he was lucky that the Shinju had gained true sentience during the sealing and that Kurama's and the other Bijuu's fondness for him had fostered over to the Juubi.

He heard the personification of the Juubi snort in amusement, before their minds disconnected and he was left alone in his thoughts. With renewed strength, "Naruto" stood back to his full height.

"Naruto" was a tall man, having reached adulthood many years previous, and was very powerfully built, living as a warrior from his even from his very distant childhood. He had a very youthful and handsome face, not beautiful like a bishonen, but more rugged and real because of the fact that it wasn't outlandishly beautiful. His cheeks were a little round, stemming from his mother's side, and his eyes a little too wide and his mouth was a little too big, but he possessed an easy going stance and wise, haunted eyes that spoke of many hardships and the fortitude to overcome them that would make any sensible woman take a second glance and find him attractive.

His hair was sun kissed and spiky, coming from his father's side, and like his father he had grown it out to match. Two long bangs framed his face, drawing the viewer's attention to his wise and sad gaze that would be captivating to look into.

His body, as previously stated, was tall and muscled, showing off the years of hard work that he put into it to acquire such a perfected body. His skin was a honeyed tan, darker than the pale of his mother and father as he spent most of his time outdoors, even with the years of working inside an office trying to mitigate the connections between all the ninja villages.

Over his body he went with a simple ninja ensemble, black, with only a few accents of orange to compliment his look. It was a far cry from his childhood's obsession with orange, but it was a look that he became partial to after he decided to listen to his wives. Over his shoulders were the only real unique features of his outfit, as he wore a long red coat with black flames licking up the bottom, and a giant scroll filled with all his knowledge and items of material and sentimental worth. He was not a very material man to begin with, having grown up with next to nothing, so the scroll was filled with more of the latter than the former.

Finally, the last piece of his ensemble was the Hitai-ate, or his Forehead Protector. His first one had long ago been damaged beyond repair, and so he had been forced to retire it and replace it with a new one. After a long discussion with all the Kage and his closest advisors, it was decided that the symbol of Uzushiogakure was to be the worldwide symbol of peace, and so his new Hitai-ate's symbol was the traditional swirl of his family. Naruto had not agreed with the decision at first, until it was pointed out that he was a sennin and a retired Hokage and an active ambassador of all the nations, and thus needed a symbol not connected to any village. Though Konohagakure was recognized as the headquarters of the United Ninja Nations and the Hokage as the World Leader, everyone knew that Naruto was the real power that moved the nations.

And so, with a heavy heart Naruto had retired his old Hitai-ate for his new one, personifying him as the Nidaime Rikudou Sennin to the whole world.

But that was in the long ago past as the existence of ever lasting peace had seen the practice of the ninja arts for anything save medical jutsu a dying art. Eventually, even Iryo ninjutsu lost its foothold and the ability of chakra became a distant memory. Naruto had found himself the last ninja in his world, and so, without regret he had decided to retire from an active power and let the people make their own way.

That was many years ago. Now, "Naruto's" life had taken him to his next great adventure.

"I feel like ramen…" Naruto chuckled.

Hopefully, the Ichiraku Ramen stand was still the same.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

This story is intended as a replacement for "Kaze Noil: Winds of Change." Ultimately, I decided to scrape the Kaze Noil series because of the direction that Masashi Kishimoto has taken the Naruto series. After a few conversations with VFSNAKE, I decided that Naruto would be better off taking the identity of Asura, since the canon is already set up for something like that…

A couple of things, really: this takes place in an alternate universe, so some things are going to be different. One of the things that are different is that Jiraiya and Hiruzen managed to talk Tsunade into coming back into the village and adopting the Naruto of this world, before they talked her into becoming the Godiame Hokage. Now, I'm not sure which direction I want to take the story, but I'm kind of partial to making the Naruto of this world a female, since I'm kind of partial to self-cest myself, even if I hate incest as a whole. I don't know why that is, so don't ask. I've only seen a few stories actually depict a male Naruto venturing into a female Naruto's universe and seducing his female counterpart with any real success and actually seem good. I want to try my hand at it, but I'm not really sure if I want to go that route. Unfortunately, the route of a male Naruto isn't really one that I think I can write about, since the previous Kaze Noil series had Kaze (canon Naruto) adopting his younger counterpart, Naruto (AU). And of course, with Tsunade adopting Naruto (AU), the only way that Asura (canon Naruto) can take on a parental role for Naruto (AU) in this story is if he decides to seduce Tsunade and wed her…

I want to talk to VFSNAKE about it before I decide, but if you, my readers want to make a suggestion on which route I should take I'd appreciate it.

Finally, this is going to be a harem. I'm not sure who is going to be in the harem, or how many women are going to be in it. I'm going to rely mostly on the flow of the story to decide on which women join the harem and how many there are in it total. If it doesn't work in the story then they won't join it.

Obviously, everyone can make suggestions on who they want to join. I'm willing to hear your reasons.

And, yes, Sasuke is probably going to be female, regardless if Naruto (AU) is male or female.

Anyways, thanks for reading and leave me a review with your thoughts, please!

Ta.

Professor Image.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Naruto franchise. The Naruto franchise is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. The only things that I own are original characters, original themes, and original plots. I wrote this story with entertainment purposes in mind. I have made no monetary gain off of this work of fiction. Please do not sue.

Summary: Destiny fulfilled, he ventures into another world, not as Naruto Uzumaki, but as Asura, the Legendary Son of the Sage of Six Paths.

Enjoy:

Asura's Legacy: Sage Chronicles

A Naruto Fanfiction by

Professor Image

Chapter II:

"Not a Dead Man"

XXX

Stepping into the Ichiraku Ramen stand for the first time in almost two millennia was almost a religious experience for the man who had once been known as Naruto Uzumaki. Though now he had a new identity and a new life, the food and the smell was exactly the same; as was the hunger that caused his gut to gurgle ravenously.

"Sounds like someone is hungry," Ayame, the waitress tending to the bar giggled at the man's embarrassment. "Please, come in." Though she greeted him warmly, her eyes were the sort of hungry stare that the man had grown used to in his many odd years.

"Naruto" stepped up to the bar, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry – it's just been a long time since I've had good ramen," taking a deep, dramatic sniff of the air, he began to grin from ear to ear, a look that he had patented in his own world. "It sure does smell like you guys know your stuff…"

Ayame beamed happily at the praise. "Oh, if you like the smell, wait until you taste it," saying this, she handed him the menu for the stand, trying and failing to contain her eagerness to tend to this new and mysterious, handsome man. "Order when you're ready…"

Naruto didn't even bother looking at the menu, both because he had long ago memorized it word for word and because he wouldn't need it. "I'll take two of everything…"

In the back, he heard old man Teuchi Ichiraku stumbling around, clanging pots and pans as he heard the order. At the same moment, Ayame's eyes widened ridiculously, as if she couldn't believe that he was serious. That was probably the most likely thought in her head, actually. Not even his pre-Juubi self could eat two of everything on the menu, and he was virtually a black hole.

"Wha –" she trailed off, realizing the seriousness of his request. At the same time, Teuchi stepped out of the back, an understandably greedy expression on his face.

"Did I hear you right, sir?" Teuchi questioned, eyes gleaming with Ryo signs. "You actually _want_ two of everything on the menu?" At Naruto's nod he grinned from ear to ear. "Then I'm afraid that I'll have to ask you to pay up front. It's a considerable amount for two of everything on the menu, you see. I'll need the money up front to know that you _can_ pay for it."

"That's fine," Naruto waved the man aside, remembering the stacks and stacks of gold and jewels hidden in his storage scroll. At the very least, gold and precious jewels would still be worth the same regardless of which world they came from.

"Very well, then it'll be 5,232 Ryo, sir," Teuchi explained. Hearing this, Naruto did some quick number crunching, before removing the large scroll on his back. "…sir?"

"Kai," Naruto exclaimed, releasing one of his seals on the scroll. It was one of his lesser stacks of gold, just a few dozen or so coins wrapped in two cloths to carry them around. As Naruto unrolled the cloth from the coins he noticed the way Teuchi and Ayame's eyes began to gleam. As Ramen Stand owners, they only made enough to just get by, at least, until Naruto had become famous across the whole world, and then their stand became quite popular. In this world, they didn't have that luxury, so any amount of wealth was impressive to them.

Quickly, Naruto set aside as much gold as would be needed to pay the bill, and a little extra. It was only six coins total, barely even a drop in this meager collection of coins, and was nowhere near any real worth out of his true fortune. And to think, most of his fortune came from his time as the Nidaime Rikudou Sennin, with only a small part of his true wealth, which would still make clans like the Hyuuga and the Uchiha immensely jealous, coming from the accumulation of the Senju, Uzumaki and Namikaze fortunes.

Truthfully, gold was pretty much worthless to him, anyways. He grew up impoverished, so he was used to minimalism and didn't have any worldly needs. The only parts of his vast fortune that mattered to him were those parts that he had inherited from his families, all three of them. There was also the little known fact that his powers gained from the Rikudou Sennin and the Juubi meant that he could create gold from nothing, or, if he so chose, convert one useless material into gold.

So, yes, gold was pretty much worthless to Naruto.

With a small puff of chakra smoke, Naruto resealed the small portion of his fortune that he had unsealed, and handed the chef the coins. Teuchi, with ecstatic eyes, took the coins reverently, taking one in between his teeth and testing the firmness. Satisfied with the weight and the softness of the metal, Teuchi grinned broadly at the man.

"Thank you for your patience, your order will be right out!" he chirped, sounding quite odd with the sing-song tone in his voice. Ayame boggled at her father's reaction, but once Teuchi had retreated to the kitchen she began eying Naruto with a hungry look in her eyes.

Naruto was slightly uncomfortable with the attention. He was old enough and experienced enough now to recognize when a woman was lusting after him, since his status as the Hero of the Fourth Great Ninja World War and the Rokudaime Hokage meant that he began to receive a lot of female attention; the problem was that he was uncomfortable with that look coming from Ayame's face. After all, Ayame had been like an older sister to him in his original world, and even though he had eventually become famous and attractive to the eyes of the females around him, Ayame had always considered him as family and never treated him like other women. It made him uncomfortable to realize that those taboos didn't apply in this world…

"So…what's your name, mister…?" Ayame attempted to start a conversation with him. Naruto almost flinched out of principal. He could hear the purring lint to her voice as she leaned over the counter to look him in the eyes. If she were any other girl he wouldn't have minded flirting back, but since it was the person that he _still_ instinctively called "Nee-chan" inside his own mind, well, that made this situation awkward, to say the least.

"Asura," he finally answered, assuming his identity as "Asura" for the first time since stepping into this world. The name was a title and a promise, one that he had assumed at the culmination of the Fourth Great Ninja World War when he and Sasuke had faced down the true source of evil, Kaguya Otsutsuki. As the inheritors of the Hagoromo's will, it was left to Naruto and Sasuke to bring peace to the world and defend it from evil. Their new identities as Asura and Indra were their promise that they would succeed.

Ayame puckered her lips in curiosity, eyebrows rising up on her forehead.

"Just Asura; you don't have a surname?" the waitress asked curiously. Asura opened his mouth to answer when the hanging curtains that blocked the stand from the outside world parted as two people entered.

"– Remember, Tsunade-sama doesn't want you gorging yourself on ramen again. You need to maintain a proper diet, and you are at a crucial stage of your development, so Tsunade-sama is only willing to let you have a few bowls," the soft and comforting voice was one that he recognized, and dearly missed. As Asura glanced up he realized just _who_ the two people walking into the Stand were…

"Ah, c'mon, Shizune-nee-chan!" the small boy that followed the woman into the stand exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear in an eerily reminiscent expression. "I haven't had Ramen in a month! A whole month!" he whined.

Asura could certainly understand the boy's feelings on the matter. At this point in the boy's short life, ramen was pretty much impossible to let go. Unfortunately, the quality of ramen had degraded to such a state in his original world that when he left it the only time ramen that was worth eating was when he made it himself.

"No, Naruto-kun, Tsunade-sama was very serious when she said that she wasn't going to put up with your diet. You want to be a good shinobi, don't you?" Shizune chided, looking up. Her eyes landed on Asura, widening considerably and growing extremely pale. "M-Minato," she stuttered.

"Eh? Shizune-nee-chan, what's up?" the boy accompanying the dark haired woman asked, looking at his surrogate older sister in worry, then following her gaze to the man at the bar.

Asura held Shizune's gaze for several minutes, unsure of how he should react to meeting his older sister figure and his alternate self so soon since appearing in this world. It was one thing to know that you'd one day meet your younger self; it was another thing entirely to have to actually experience it…

Before he could decide on how to greet the two, Teuchi shouted from the back, "Service!" and Shizune scampered off to retrieve whichever many bowls the old chef had managed to cook in the three minutes that it had taken for Asura to converse with Ayame and for Shizune and his younger self to appear.

"Enjoy," Ayame smiled at him as she sat six bowls down in front of him at the bar, batting her eyelashes. Asura looked away from his counterpart and the woman that had once been his older sister figure to the attractive waitress that was unknowingly making the situation exceedingly more uncomfortable, a slightly forced smile on his face.

"Thank you," he offered, cracking apart a pair of chopsticks and doing his best to ignore Shizune and the boy who would grow up to one day become the Nidaime Rikudou Sennin.

As for her, Shizune was doing her best to keep up with the situation as Naruto scampered off to chatter away at his Ayame-nee-chan who didn't seem to appreciate the interruption but was willing to humor the boy. Wide eyed and uncertain, Shizune sat down two stools down from the man, absorbing his appearance raptly.

There was no denying the similarities between this man and the long since dead Yondaime Hokage. Both were blond man with handsome features, though Minato was obviously more on the bishonen side. Likewise, this man was more powerfully built, with a more natural handsomeness that the new generation didn't seem to care for but could certainly appreciate if they took the time to study him. His body was large, extremely tall and very powerfully built. Startlingly, his physical appearance mirrored Minato's in more than just his good looks and body type…there was also the fact that he was dressed in an outfit similar to the dead Hokage's, with the difference in color tones making a sharp contrast between them. Whereas the Yondaime preferred the classic jounin green and white and blues, this man preferred black, red and oranges…

It was like looking at night and day…

She knew that the man was aware of her scrutiny, but he hid it well. If it wasn't for her knowledge of the human musculature from her life as a med-nin and her keen eye for detail then she would have missed the slight tenseness to his azure eyes as he otherwise happily engulfed several bowls of ramen that would put Naruto to shame.

And then the man was placing down the last bowl of ramen onto the bar, smiling charmingly at Ayame.

"I'm ready for the next round," he said smoothly, making the girl rush to retrieve the bowls and scamper off to her father. Though the speed in which he had eaten had been surprising, he had still been a tad slower to stuff his face than Naruto or a typical Akimichi. Instead of speed, he had opted for grace, not spilling a single drop of broth onto his clothing or face. Without the bowl in front of his face, she could finally see his tanned face, obstructed by a light dusting of darker blond stubble that actually complimented him.

"I'm sorry, did you need something?" the man asked, apparently finally deciding to return her curious gaze. Shizune wanted to feel frustration and anger at the man, but instead only felt curious and a bit excited.

"Who are you?" Shizune asked. The man chuckled, his eyes crinkling as he smiled, and it was simply breathtaking. The knowledge and power hidden behind his azure gaze was simply captivating, drawing people to him like moths to a flame.

"I'm sorry, but isn't it polite to give one's own name before asking for someone else's?" he returned. Shizune felt her cheeks heating up with her blush, though she told herself that she was being silly. Having always had a slight crush of Minato Namikaze, it was hard to maintain her usual sense of calm in this man's presence.

"Shizune Kato," the medic greeted. The man's smile widened, full of total, unconditional warmth and acceptance. It made her feel hot and needy.

"Asura," was his returned greeting. Before she could begin to grill him Ayame returned, setting down the man's next course, and he dug in to the wide eyed amazement of everyone but Naruto, who was busy stuffing his own face.

It was as he was concentrating on his meal and ignoring her that Shizune got a good look at his Hitai-ate and saw to her astonishment that the symbol emblazoned onto its surface was the symbol of Uzushiogakure and its people, the Uzumaki clan…but how could he…?

"Are you from Uzushiokagure?" Shizune asked, unable to restrain her curiosity from the man. Asura paused with a long string of noodles hanging from his mouth, before slurping it up and wiping his face with a napkin.

"I guess you could say that," he said with a shrug. At his answer Shizune's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You…aren't an Uzumaki?" she asked in a hushed voice, glancing to Naruto from the corner of her eye. Luckily, the younger blond was too busy stuffing his own face to notice.

"I have no claim to that name, now," the exact way that he said it left it to speculation, but it certainly sounded like he was admitting that he was once known as an Uzumaki to Shizune's ears…but how could that be? Besides Naruto, there were no blond haired Uzumaki from the main branch of the clan, the only other blond Uzumaki being Tsunade, and she was merely the granddaughter of an Uzumaki, whereas Naruto was the _son_ of one.

Asura went back to his meal, leaving Shizune to her thoughts.

Asura himself was trying to ignore Shizune, seeing as he recognized what the med-nin was trying to do. Though Shizune attempted several more times to start up a new conversation with him Asura used his knowledge of her personality to direct her away from asking about his life by asking about hers instead. Shizune, of course, was so certain that she was so very boring that she at first tried to ignore his questions, but his continued interest in her life and his bullheaded stubbornness to redirect her own questions back at her had her eventually opening up.

It was a start.

Asura could tell that Shizune was flattered by his interest in her life as he traded between talking with her and eating continually. She had a severe inferiority complex, having to live in Tsunade's shadow, but with casual comments and gentle prodding he got her to speak lightly about her life as a med-nin and as Tsunade's apprentice. He refused to ask about Tsunade, both knowing that it would throw a wall between them and turn the conversation back on him, and only asked about topics he knew that Shizune felt emotionally vested in and were light enough that it wouldn't alienate her.

It was Naruto who interrupted the peace between Shizune and Asura, having finished his meal long before Asura had even gotten half way through his own. The blond boy asking Shizune if she was ready to leave derailed their hushed conversation. And though Asura could tell that Shizune was reluctant to abandon her verbal partner, as she found speaking with him quite pleasant, Asura knew immediately that Shizune was going to say goodbye.

It wasn't so surprising then when Shizune bid him goodbye. However, what was surprising was when she asked him with a near desperate tone in her voice if he would meet her here at Ichiraku Ramen in a week. Asura agreed to the request, seeing no reason to deny the woman his time, especially since Shadow Clones, the Hiraishin and the Kamui meant that no distance was too great. He refused to register the way Ayame's cheeks puffed out angrily in envy.

As Asura went back to his meal, he belatedly realized that he now had a _date_.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

Part of the issue of this chapter was getting the flow right so that Asura and Shizune could have an easy going conversation and that I could show Asura's natural magnetism and make Shizune attracted to him without her attraction seeming superfluous. I might have succeeded, but then again, I might not have.

A lot of Shizune's reactions stem both from her previous crush on Minato Namikaze and Asura's resemblance to him, as well as Asura's generally likeable nature. It's not really a BAM! Instantaneous love! Deal, but more of just a reaction to a person's appearance and personality that causes normal people to randomly ask another person out when they've had next to no interactions with that person.

Shizune may or may not wind up in the harem, I can't say yet. I just wanted to explore Shizune's character a bit and show off a little more of Asura's personality and history in this chapter. As well as give us the first glimpse of Naruto (AU).

Anyways, as you can see, I ultimately decided on the male route. I plan to do a version of this story where it follows the female Naruto (AU) route, but at a later date. I want to see more of where I'm going before starting on THAT project.

Anyways, if you feel like it, you can give me suggestions on the harem. Since we're going the male Naruto (AU) route, both Asura and Naruto (AU) are going to have harems, with Asura gaining a harem of older women and Naruto (AU) gaining a harem of the younger gals. So your suggestions should mirror that, please.

Like I said to VFSNAKE, Asura's already had his happy ending, being married to several women in his previous life. He's not about to wed one of the younger girls in the series because what drew him to them in the first place was the hardships and the adventures that they went on that allowed him to learn about them and fall for them. Without those experiences to tie them together, there's no way he'll be attracted to one of the younger girls, especially since it would probably just make him feel like a pedophile. So that's why Asura's going to get a harem of older women.

Anyways, as always, leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter, please.

Ta.

Professor Image.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Naruto franchise. The Naruto franchise is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. The only things that I own are original characters, original themes, and original plots. I wrote this story with entertainment purposes in mind. I have made no monetary gain off of this work of fiction. Please do not sue.

Summary: Destiny fulfilled, he ventures into another world, not as Naruto Uzumaki, but as Asura, the Legendary Son of the Sage of Six Paths.

Enjoy:

Asura's Legacy: Sage Chronicles

A Naruto Fanfiction by

Professor Image

Chapter III:

"Revel in the Mystery"

XXX

It wasn't until later that day that Shizune managed to speak with her sensei, Tsunade Senju. After dropping Naruto off at the Nara estate, Shizune made her way back to the Hokage tower, well aware of the importance of the near future discussion.

It was with a cautious breath that Shizune asked for admittance, something that Tsunade granted her apprentice regardless of her meeting with the jounin of the village.

Entering the room, Shizune found all the active jounin sensei filling the room to the very brim. Some of the jounin were regulars, visiting this very chamber every other year to report their three man cell's status, whereas others, such as Kurenai Yuuhi were quite new to the procession. At the very center of it all was Tsunade Senju herself, accompanied by her teammate, Jiraiya of the Sannin, and her own sensei, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who acted as her advisors alongside a third member of her advisory group. Besides Jiraiya and Hiruzen, the last man who acted as the female Kage's advisor didn't appreciate being the focus of the attention. Shikaku Nara was a trusted jounin of Konohagakure and an intelligent battle strategist. It was natural to select him for an advisory role, but Shikaku preferred to mingle with the other jounin when he wasn't on missions with his own three man cell.

Conversation stagnated as the ninja gathered in the room recognized her urgent face and the way that her chakra lashed out in a slight panic. Before she could say anything Kurenai's familiar presence made itself known at her side, a calming expression on the other woman's face.

"Shizune, are you alright?" the red eyed jounin asked quietly. Shizune was aware of the way the whole room was looking at her with a note of trepidation and raptness. Tsunade herself looked especially wary.

"Hokage-sama," Shizune greeted, stepping up to the desk that Tsunade and her present two advisors were sitting behind. As Tsunade waved her to continue with a concerned expression on her face, Shizune gulped and started. "I wish to report a suspicious presence in the village."

It was quite easy to see the way how everyone in the room tensed at those words. Though they were fortunate to enjoy a long standing peace, everyone always expected espionage and sabotage from the other Five Great Ninja Villages. Some, as the med-nin noticed, were already beginning to draw up battle strategies.

"Quiet," Tsunade ordered, and the frantic murmuring in the room was halted suddenly as the Godaime Hokage stood up, a very serious expression on her face. "Shizune, please explain yourself."

With this order, Shizune began to speak. She filled the room with her descriptions of the man and his contradictory nature; his outfit; his appearance; and even the feeling that his mere presence gave off from standing next to her. Still sitting in his own seat, Hiruzen Sarutobi absently stroked his goatee while nodding his head along with the dark haired young woman's words.

"If I so may, Tsunade-chan?" Hiruzen interrupted, causing the Godaime to glance back to her predecessor. With a nod of agreement from Tsunade, Hiruzen turned his attention to Shizune. "You say he wore the symbol of Uzushiogakure, and yet did not claim to be an Uzumaki. Did you by chance manage to sense the nature of his chakra, Shizune-chan?" It was a completely understandable question, really. Clans such as the Senju and the Uchiha had a distinct feeling that their chakra gave off. As the distant relatives of the Senju, the Uzumaki had inherited the Senju's immense chakra and the feelings that came with it.

Shizune briefly reflected on her conversation with the unknown man named "Asura". She examined in detail his speech and his habits and his body reactions, and finally the nature of his chakra, which left her wide eyed as she remembered something vastly important that she had all but ignored in the wake of her meeting with the man.

"I…didn't sense it at all," Shizune murmured in awe and horror. Still, being surrounded by jounin and Kage level ninja meant that everyone heard her.

"You didn't sense…anything?" Jiraiya asked for clarification, blinking in surprise and a little trepidation. "How can that be?"

"We need chakra to survive, without it we'd die," Rin Nohara spoke up, sounding strained at the thought of someone walking around without chakra. "There's no one alive who can completely mask their chakra's presence."

"I know," Shizune agreed, closing her eyes wearily. "However, I still couldn't feel any chakra coming from that man. If I wasn't sitting next to him and talking to him as he _ate_ I would swear that he didn't exist…"

"Such chakra control," Hiruzen said with a frown, regarding the situation with a grim edge to his face and voice. "To think that someone lives who can completely mask their chakra presence…I wonder, just how powerful this man actually is?"

"You claim his name is Asura, and that he wears the symbol of Uzushiogakure, Shizune?" Tsunade prompted from her student. Shizune nodded at her teacher' question, and seeing this, Tsunade frowned.

Turning to her jounin, the Kage addressed them. "I'm afraid that we'll have to postpone this meeting for another time. This Asura's presence in the village, whoever he may be, presents us with a massive loophole in our security. For now, we'll need whatever jounin and anbu that is available to search for this man…"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" the jounin chorused, and began to file out of the room after the Hokage dismissed them with a crisp, "Get started!"

Alone in the room with her teacher, Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shizune maintained her sensei's gaze as Tsunade had her go over her conversation with the strange man named Asura while they waited for a team of anbu to appear. Soon, Hayate Gekko's team, composed of his girlfriend Yugao Uzuki, Genma Shiranui and Kakashi Hatake, entered the room. After a quick briefing with Tsunade, Kakashi summoned his Ninken and they set out on the hunt, stopping by Ichiraku Ramen in case they weren't too late to pick up the strange man's scent.

After an hour of looking, in which Tsunade continued to grill Shizune and sent out some anbu to check on the Godaime Hokage's adopted son and only living family member, as well as visit the clan compounds to make sure that the other Shinobi Godaikoku hadn't made a move on the clans or Konohagakure's resident jinchuuriki. When it was reported that no one had managed to find even a hint of Asura's whereabouts Tsunade settled back to wait.

"Though we searched all of Ichiraku," Kakashi reported, his head bowed to his leader as he reported his ninken's findings, "My ninken could only find the recent scent trails of Naruto-kun and yourself, Shizune-senpai."

"That can't be right," Shizune claimed with her eyebrows pinched in surprise and concern, "I'm sure that he was standing right next to me…"

"Perhaps it was a genjutsu?" Sarutobi supplied a theory. The Sandaime Hokage turned to the anbu team now with his next question. "Did you question Ayame-san and Teuchi-san, Hayate?"

"Hai, sir," Hayate answered immediately, with his excitement being met with a coughing fit. Seeing the state that her boyfriend and team leader was in, Yugao took over.

"When we couldn't find a proper scent trail we immediately asked Ayame-san and Teuchi-san about their mysterious guest. From what we learned, Shizune was accurate in her descriptions of this Asura. Furthermore, Teuchi-san describe this Asura as 'insanely rich', as Asura apparently paid Teuchi-san in six coins made completely out of gold, and apparently he had plenty more on hand…"

"This case is growing even more curious by the minute," Jiraiya chuckled, trying to break the tense atmosphere. "Not only does he look like Minato physically, but he's apparently a Sage judging from the coat he wears, and now we learn that he's absolutely loaded! Such men are rare these days…"

"Do you think that you could discover this man's identity?" Tsunade asked her old teammate, knowing his Spy Network. Jiraiya waved her concerns aside confidentially.

"There's nothing that I can't find out. Since this man is so obvious, it shouldn't be too hard to find him…" standing from his seat, he turned to the Hokage's window, intending to begin his search immediately. "I'll start looking right now, if you wish, Tsunade-hime…" he offered. Tsunade nodded.

"You may," Tsunade agreed. Jiraiya grinned and threw himself from the window, disappearing to begin his search. This left Tsunade, Hiruzen, Shizune and the anbu team to converse quietly about the man's appearance and form their own speculations until finally Tsunade dismissed the anbu team, and Hiruzen stood to leave.

"All this excitement has worn me out," Hiruzen laughed tiredly, shaking his head. "I'm afraid that I'm nowhere near as energetic as I used to be. If you do not need me, Tsunade-chan, then I shall retire." Tsunade smiled at her old sensei, nodding.

"Of course, sensei," Tsunade agreed. Thus, Tsunade and Shizune were left alone in the office.

"You did well to report this man's presence to me, Shizune, and protecting Naruto at the same time by leaving him in the Nara clan's capable hands before visiting me," the Hokage spoke. "Now is there anything else that you wish to tell me?"

"Well," Shizune wrung her hands in a nervous gesture. "I had requested from Asura that he see me out on a date next week. Assuming that you still want to interrogate him, I think you could meet with him if your investigations don't pan out."

"A fair assumption," Tsunade agreed, turning back to her bane of existence: paperwork. "A little too impulsive, I admit, but it has merit. Thank you for your concern, Shizune. I hope that there isn't any reason for me to ruin your date."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said, while inwardly hoping that there was no reason to suspect Asura of wrong doing. Tsunade was quite vindictive to those that sought to harm her friends a family, and while Shizune was loyal enough to her master to report this Asura's presence in the village, as it _was_ quite suspicious, Shizune would still be sad if Tsunade saw a reason to arrest him.

_So…duty before everything else, is it, Shizune?_

From a nearby building Asura smiled, opening his previously closed eyes and letting the Byakugan's white light fade from his eyes.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

This chapter kind of got away with me. At first, I didn't suspect that it would take nearly two thousand words to depict Shizune, Tsunade and the village's reactions to Asura's presence, but the scene worked so well that I just ran with it.

The part at the end was just a sudden inspiration on my part. I hadn't originally planned for Asura to know what was going on in the village, but I found myself typing that part into the end of the chapter regardless of the rest of the chapter. Should prove interesting to see Asura's reactions to Konohagakure's interest in him, right?

Shizune's reaction does make sense. As infatuated as she was with Asura, she still lives by a strict code that places her village and her loyalty to Tsunade above everything else. The suspiciousness of Asura's sudden appearance in the village is not lost to her, and realizing the danger she'd of course go to her sensei regardless of her attraction to Asura. Asura would definitely know the reasons behind her actions, so whether or not he forgives her remains to be seen.

Anyways, it's looking like a lot of people want to pair Tsunade Senju and Mei Terumi with Asura. Now, granted, I admit that I already know how such a route would go, but it'll still be a while before Asura can approach either Tsunade or Mei without them being suspicious of his intentions. I'm trying to convey a sense of realism in a world where ninjutsu basically means that reality is a ninja's bitch.

Anyways, as always, leave me with a review of your thoughts, please!

Ta.

Professor Image.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Naruto franchise. The Naruto franchise is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. The only things that I own are original characters, original themes, and original plots. I wrote this story with entertainment purposes in mind. I have made no monetary gain off of this work of fiction. Please do not sue.

Summary: Destiny fulfilled, he ventures into another world, not as Naruto Uzumaki, but as Asura, the Legendary Son of the Sage of Six Paths.

Enjoy:

Asura's Legacy: Sage Chronicles

A Naruto Fanfiction by

Professor Image

Chapter IV:

"Fork my Life"

XXX

Admittedly, Asura was upset with Shizune, and would have liked to confront the woman about her actions, but he knew deep down why she would betray his presence in the village to Tsunade. After all, he _was_ suspicious. He was an unknown ninja, wearing a Sage coat, bearing the symbol of Uzushiogakure, and of course, no one could sense his chakra. Anyone would be suspicious of what he was doing in their village.

Of course, they were obviously wrong about his intentions or the village that he hails from and is loyal too, but they didn't know that, and it wasn't like they'd just accept his word for it. Not that Asura really minded. At this point only the likes of a Juubi/Hashirama/Senjutsu enhanced Madara Uchiha and a Juubi enhanced Kaguya Otsutsuki had a hope of fighting him on even ground. The only person that he was actually worried about fighting would be his old man: Hagoromo, who had continued to study ninshu even after his worldly "death". A fight between them would be cataclysmic, not because Hagoromo was as powerful as him, but because Hagoromo's sheer skill outweighed Asura's by a landslide.

In the end, Asura decided that the village's hunt for him would be a nice distraction as he waited for his date with Shizune, which he fully intended to continue with regardless of her actions or what the Godaime Hokage was planning. That part of him that still called Shizune "nee-chan" refused to think badly of her, even if she had shown that her loyalty to her village and Tsunade outweighed everything else in her life.

All of this, Asura considered in the blink of the all as he leapt from tree to tree, well aware of the group of nin following him.

The three that were following him were familiar. They had caught sight of him when he had been snooping around the village's news archives in the library. Admittedly, it is very suspicious for anyone to be under henge in a ninja village unless they were on a mission. Since all ninja were forbidden to wear henge jutsu in the library, that painted a big bull's eye on his back. Luckily, his henge was so good that only the Hyuuga could see through them…unfortunately, the team that had spotted him had a Hyuuga.

It wasn't surprising to see Tsume and Kuromaru. They were some of the best trackers in the village. He was surprised that they hadn't stopped to identify him as the younger Naruto since his scent was almost exactly the same…then again, Kuromaru was probably experienced enough to tell the differences between the two Uzumaki.

Accompanying Tsume was a Hyuuga branch clan member and an Aburame clan member. It was all standard fare, really. It would be worrisome if Shibi Aburame and Hizashi Hyuuga were accompanying Tsume, since they were the woman's original teammates, but from what he understood of this world Hizashi was dead like in his original world and Shibi was busy with clan politics and infiltration missions. Probably the best missions that Tsume could get were counter espionage missions, since she was just too valuable to the village as a clan head and one of the most talented tracker ninja in all of Fire Country to be sent out on the more dangerous missions.

That reminded him of Kiba, Shino and Neji. Judging from the age of his counterpart in this world, Shino, Kiba and the rest of his graduating class would be ready to join their three man ninja cells with their jounin sensei soon, while Neji would be preparing for the chunin exams already with Gai, Lee, and Tenten. This fact would mean that he'd have very little time to plan before the shit started flying.

_Damn…I wish Shikamaru was here. His lazy ass would definitely have a plan for what I should do_, Asura thought darkly. He sighed, knowing that he shouldn't let it get to him. It had been nearly two thousand years since he had been able to rely on Shikamaru, so eventually he had developed the means to strategize for himself, though it was a pain in the ass to do so.

As a spur of the moment decision, Asura suddenly turned and charged at his pursuers head on. He'd been leading them in a circle back to the village through the forest surrounding the village, so he knew that they suspected that he'd try to slip in with the crowds. His actions now, however, definitely surprised them from the way that they suddenly halted, unable to form a proper response. Asura threw himself over them, flipping around and landing in a crouch behind them. A small smile played across his lips as he declared, "Boom," which was soon followed by his chakra going wild and his body erupting in a splash of neon green paint.

On a nearby tree overlooking the three ninja and the ninken, Asura idly watched as the three ninja and the dog threw themselves to the ground far below the tree that they had been standing on to avoid what they thought was a deadly explosion. Paint Bunshin was one of Asura's favorite pranking weapons, something that he had invented one day out of sheer boredom. It was completely useless in actual combat, but these days he rarely saw the reason to kill anyone or anything.

"Damn, what the hell was that?" Tsume growled, stalking away from the paint dripping down from the tree trunk and onto the forest floor. "Paint?" she wondered.

Sniffing the ground next to the woman, her partner dog began growling in warning. "Careful," the ninken claimed, looking up to the tree that Asura was silently watching them from, "It seems our opponent is very skilled in surprise attacks and is very inventive in his jutsu. Keep on your guard." He suggested.

"Kuromaru," Tsume glanced to her ninken partner, before following his line of sight to see the blond man that they were following looking down at them with a bored expression on his face. "What do you smell?"

Asura felt a small smile spread over his lips. Unfortunately, though he could hide his chakra presence, ninken had the ability to smell a person's power just from sniffing out their scent. Kuromaru's next words confirmed what he knew.

"Power," Kuromaru growled, clearly wary. "Whoever he is, he is stronger than anyone I have ever tracked before…"

"Are you sure?" Tsume asked. Her dog's answering agreement made the whole group shift uneasily, trusting in the ninken's words completely.

Asura noticed the formation that the three were making; Tsume was pulling back, getting ready to attack with her ninken, Kuromaru; at the same time the Hyuuga branch clan member was stepping up front, ready to attack close range; and finally, the Aburame clan member was pulled as far back as possible to give him room to use his bugs.

_Classic tracker team formation, _Asura yawned. It wasn't very impressive since he'd seen Kiba, Shino and Hinata do it all the time.

Before Tsume's team could react, Asura threw himself to the ground and rushed the Hyuuga. He ignored the Juken blows to his chakra points, since there was no way a Hyuuga could shut off his tenketsu without expending a lot of chakra to do so. Throwing a solid right hook into the Hyuuga's jaw, he followed it up by stabbing at the pressure points at his shoulders, freezing his arms with immense pain. A hard back fist into the Hyuuga's chest had the man thrown into a tree in time for Asura to avoid Tsume and Kuromaru's Gatsuga combination.

Asura rolled away from the woman and her mutt. Asura followed Tsume's course with his sharp eyes before rushing at her. A shoulder charge into her chest rammed her into a tree, though Kuromaru was quick to act with a Tsuga. Asura let the dog take him away from its master before letting his chakra ignite inside him, causing him to explode in a shower of glue that the ninken was unable to avoid.

"Kuromaru!" exclaimed Tsume, as she and the Aburame landed next to the dog stuck to the ground.

"I'm alright, Tsume-sama," the ninken growled, struggling to remain upright against the glue that was growing stronger and tighter by the second. "Whatever it was he did, it doesn't seem to be harmful…"

"It seems to be some kind of adhesive, like glue," the Aburame commented, picking up a nearby stick to poke it into the goop and watching as it adhered to the stuff. "It seems we'll have to capture this man on our own before we can free you, Kuromaru-san…"

"Fine, just hurry up. This stuff is disgusting!" the dog growled.

"Tsume-san!" exclaimed the Hyuuga branch clan member, landing next to the Aburame and the dog mistress. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't –" he was silenced as both Tsume and the Aburame threw shuriken at him. "Wha?" he exclaimed, leaping away from the deadly projectiles.

"You'll have to do better than that," Tsume growled. "Trying to sneak up on an Inuzuka and an Aburame with such a weak henge will only get you killed," the dog woman snapped. The "Hyuuga" grinned, before flashing the peace saw.

"Awesome!" he exclaimed, dispelling the henge and resuming his Asura form, "I was worried that you wouldn't be able to see through my normal henge, so I powered it down a tad bit so that you two could spot the differences without a Hyuuga available!" he claimed, grinning from ear to ear. With the Hyuuga out of commission, and with the fact that Tsume and the Aburame had been led further back into the forest, it would have made sense to use a henge to surprise them if it wasn't for the fact that Tsume was an Inuzuka and her teammate was an Aburame.

"You know…" Tsume said, eyebrow twitching at the man's audacity, "You aren't really right in the head…" The Aburame began nodding with her.

"What?" the blond man grinned, standing up to his full height, "I'm bored, you're here, let's have fun!" and with that, he began forming hand signs and gathering his chakra. Before they could stop him the man had gathered his Wind nature chakra, Fire nature chakra, and Earth nature chakra, and expelled it all in a cloud of ash, blowing away the swarm of bugs that had been surrounding him.

Asura leaped from the ground to the tree tops over them, prompting Tsume and the Aburame to jump to their own feet while Kuromaru cried, "Get him, Tsume-sama!"

_I will_, Tsume promised, leaping into the trees with a Tsuga spinning her body in a hurricane of claws and fangs. Even as she followed the blond nin, swirling towards him, he seemed not to care for the imminent death. Then she was hitting him, her claws and fangs tearing at him, leaving him screaming in agony.

After a few minutes, she jumped away, landing lightly on a branch as the blond nin fell from the tree tops to the forest ground. Tsume followed him, the Aburame stepping up beside her with a very intense expression on his face as he waited for the blond man to so much as twitch…or so she thought. Because a puff of smoke later showed that the man that she had just attacked…was her own team member, the Aburame!

Tsume spun around, decking the "fake" Aburame who flew into a nearby tree and didn't get up. She fully expected to see a puff of smoke to reveal the blond man; however, a puff of smoke behind her had her turning around wide eyed to see that the "Aburame" that she had hit with a Tsuga was really a log…with an explosive tag attached to it.

"Oh shit," Tsume swore, just as the tag exploded, sending rainbow colored paint splashing over the whole forest floor and covering the matriarch of the Inuzuka family in the unicorn and fairy vomit.

"You know," said the voice of the blond man that they had been following. Tsume looked up to see him hanging upside down on a branch and looking down at her with a lopsided grin on his face, "I'd expected better of the Hyuuga, Aburame and Inuzuka clans. Henge, Kawarimi, explosive tags, and clone jutsu are the standard fare of the Academy. How do jounin fall for that?" he laughed.

"Screw you, asshole!" Tsume fumed, shaking a fist up at the man. Before she could continue the man was dropping down from the tree, already forming a chain of hand signs that made her eyes widen.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" exclaimed Asura, gathering the moisture from the air and sending a flood of water down to the forest floor and right into the Inuzuka's face. Tsume screamed as she was dragged along with the current of the water through the forest for about a kilometer, before the water finally let up and she and her four teammates were allowed to slide to a rest in the muddy ground.

Landing on a nearby tree trunk, Asura grinned down at the three jounin and ninken that were weakly glaring up at him, looking quite waterlogged.

"Well, I'd say this was quite the enlightening experience, but then I'd be lying," Asura laughed, casually catching one of the kunai thrown at him from the jounin and knocking away the others with the very same one that he caught. "At least, next time, try and keep up a little! Ta!" and with that parting shot, Asura activated one of the Hiraishin seals that he had left beyond on the Hokage tower and disappeared in a yellow flash, leaving the three jounin and the ninken to stare wide eyed at the place that he had just vacated.

_What…the fuck?_ Was the collective consensus of the three jounin and one ninken.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

Originally, I'd planned to send Asura to Sunagakure to deal with Gaara in this chapter, but decided to keep him in Konohagakure at the last minute because I thought up a few interesting pranks and ways for Asura to show off his superiority to regular ninja. So, there's going to be a few scenes of Asura trolling Konohagakure in these next few chapteers.

Next up, I imagine should be Asura getting to hold a conversation with Naruto and Hinata for the first time in this story…and more revelations about Asura's history, of course!

Anyways, I'm still taking suggestions for Asura's harem and Naruto's (AU) harem. Let me know what you guys want. I'll be listening to every suggestion.

As always, leave me a review with your thoughts on this chapter, please!

Ta.

Professor Image.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Naruto franchise. The Naruto franchise is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. The only things that I own are original characters, original themes, and original plots. I wrote this story with entertainment purposes in mind. I have made no monetary gain off of this work of fiction. Please do not sue.

Summary: Destiny fulfilled, he ventures into another world, not as Naruto Uzumaki, but as Asura, the Legendary Son of the Sage of Six Paths.

Enjoy:

Asura's Legacy: Sage Chronicles

A Naruto Fanfiction by

Professor Image

Chapter V:

"A Sage, Where?"

XXX

The village of Konohagakure had many training grounds, from the infamous Training Ground Forty-Four, otherwise known as "The Forest of Death," to the equally as famous Training Ground Seven, the very same Training Ground that the Sandaime Hokage began the training of the famous Sannin. The Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi also had the honor of being taught by the Shodaime Hokage and the Nidaime Hokage in the very same Training Ground.

However, these facts were not important at the moment. For the Training Ground that we'll focus on currently is Training Ground Fourteen, where a small blond boy and a tall white haired elderly man were standing.

"Ne, what are you going to teach me today, Ero-Sennin!" the blond boy exclaimed, nearly bouncing on his feet. Hearing what the boy called him, the white haired man, dubbed as "Ero-Sennin," or, "Perverted Sage", began to literally foam at the mouth.

"Nar-u-to!" snapped "Ero-Sennin", his eyes flaming with violence, "Stop calling me that! I'm Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin! I can't have you spouting such nonsense as that!" he roared at the boy, Naruto.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, his body lowering into a slight crouch as he scratched at the back of his head with his right hand. "Eh? What are you talking about? I call you what you are, you big pervert!"

Jiraiya stepped into the boy's personal space, shouting, "Show some respect for your sensei, you damn brat!"

"I'll show some respect when you actually teach me, Ero-Sennin!" Naruto shouted, pointing a finger into the older man's face. Having said his part, Naruto turned around and crossed his arms onto his chest. Then, shutting his eyes, he muttered, "It's not my fault that your idea of 'teaching' is to go peek on girls in the hot spring!"

"You punk!" exclaimed Jiraiya, bonking the boy on the head with a fist, "How many times do I have to tell you that that is important research! It's not my fault that a little kid such as you cannot appreciate the lengths I go for good material in my books, brat!" he fumed.

"As if, you just want to peek!" exclaimed Naruto, sticking out his tongue. Jiraiya turned red.

"Why you little punk!" roared Jiraiya.

As Naruto and Jiraiya continued their pointless fight, completely forgetting about the "real" reason why they had secluded themselves into the same Training Ground that they were standing in, their silent observer that was quite familiar with their antics looked on with her white eyes half lidded and a furious blush on her face.

_Naruto-kun_, Hinata Hyuuga thought as she watched her crush fight with his sensei. It was an all too common sight around the village for Naruto to be accompanied either by his regular sensei, Jiraiya, or his adopted older sister Shizune, the apprentice of Tsunade, who was the blond boy's adopted mother. While Naruto and Shizune got along splendidly, with Shizune lavishing love and attention to the orphan, Jiraiya's and Naruto's relationship was a bit more…complicated.

On one hand, Jiraiya fulfilled the role of a much needed male parental figure in his life, disregarding the fact that Tsunade and he were incapable of possessing any romantic feelings for each other. On the other hand, Jiraiya's usual antics were a cause for much frustration and annoyance for the blond boy. Though Naruto was Jiraiya's unofficial apprentice, the old Sage was frequently away on missions for the Hokage, who was Naruto's adopted mother and the legendary Sannin: Tsunade Senju.

On top of the infrequency of Jiraiya's participation in the boy's life, Jiraiya's habit of shirking Naruto's training in favor of pursuing more…worldly desires left Naruto at odds with his godfather and sensei. Obviously, both Jiraiya and Naruto cared deeply for each other, and wouldn't trade the other's presence in their lives for anything; however, there was a massive hole in Naruto's life that the old Sage was completely incapable of filling.

Hinata had seen all this in the years that she had been watching Naruto Uzumaki struggle through his life and training.

"Anyways," Jiraiya said, breaking off from their rather pointless argument and catching the Hyuuga heiress's attention. "Now that you're going to be a ninja for Konohagakure, Tsunade and I feel it's time for taking your training seriously."

"It's about freaking time!" Naruto shouted, excited. Jiraiya pointedly ignored the boy's outburst and continued without pause.

"Because of the dangers that you will no doubt face, Tsunade and I agree that I should officially take you on as my apprentice. Starting today, your sensei will be I, Jiraiya: the Toad Sage of the Mount Myoboku Toads!" with flourish, Jiraiya removed the giant scroll from his back and dropped it down to the ground.

"As my official apprentice, we'll begin by having you sign the Toad Summoning Contract. Think of it as if it's a mark of recognition," Jiraiya explained. At Naruto's blank look, Jiraiya scratched his cheek with his left hand, laughing. "Basically, this means that everyone will recognize you as my apprentice, got it, brat?"

As Jiraiya had Naruto sign the Toad Summoning Contract and taught him the hand signs for the jutsu, Hinata watched as the two worked in silence, happy for her not so secret crush. So caught up in the moment was she that she was completely unaware of her surroundings, not even thinking of maintaining her Byakugan. That was the reason why she was so surprised when a voice broke the silence from immediately next to her.

"So…uh, what'cha doing?" a deep and rich masculine voice asked from her left and a little above her. Hinata started, her head whipping around to look into the grinning face of a blond man hanging upside down on a tree branch. From the way he was hanging, he was just head level with her.

Her surprise at the man's sudden appearance and close proximity caused her to react instinctively by jumping backwards and making a frightened noise loud enough to be heard throughout the whole Training Ground.

"Who is there?" Jiraiya called into the tree line. The voice sounded like who he thought it belonged to, but he had always been rather fond of Hiashi and his daughter so he had never saw a reason to oust her in front of her obvious crush before…however, the fright in the voice was quite clear, and his concern for her outweighed his reasons for keeping her presence quiet.

"Ohiyo!" a distinctively male voice called from the forest, which was followed by an equally as male form stepping out of the tree line. The blond man that greeted him certainly _wasn't_ the person whom Jiraiya expected to see.

"Ah, it's the man from Ichiraku!" exclaimed Naruto, pointing at his fellow blond. Hearing that, Jiraiya made a logical deduction, taking in the man's Sage Cloak and Uzushiogakure emblazoned Hitai-ate.

"Oh? You remember me, boy?" the mysterious blond smiled and it certainly didn't _appear_ as if the man had any ulterior motive behind his azure eyes. Only pure, unconditional warmth lay behind those twin blue pools. His smile grew into a fox-like grin, so eerily reminiscent of Naruto's grin that it gave Jiraiya whiplash. "I'm flattered to be remembered by the youth in this day and age."

"Are you…" Jiraiya began, his body twitching with the need to act. "I mean…is your name…Asura?" he questioned. The newcomer inclined his head towards the Sannin.

"Ara, ara…I seem to be so popular these days. To be known by one of the Legendary Sannin," the man smiled, closing his eyes so that he appeared almost a carbon copy of a kitsune.

_So he knows who I am,_ Jiraiya filed the unintentional slip away for later dissection, instead asking, "What's a guy like you doing all the way in an out of the way Training Ground like this?" Hearing that, Asura cocked his head back, picking at his ear with left hand.

"Wouldn't you know it, but I was just minding my own business and having a nice leisurely stroll through the forest when I saw a little miss just standing alone. I thought to myself, 'Self; what's a little miss doing all alone like that, doesn't that seem kind of dangerous?' so I decided that I'd stop to introduce myself. However, when I did, the little miss screamed in fright. You know the rest," Asura explained. He turned to the tree line, exclaiming, "Little miss, do you plan to come out now?"

At the request, a small form appeared out of the tree line, timidly approaching the group of three males. Seeing who it was that appeared, Naruto pointed at the girl, surprised.

"Eh, what is Hinata-chan doing all the way out here!" shouted Naruto. Hearing his words, Hinata ducked her head, poking her two index fingers together in a sign of shyness.

"Um… I was… that is…" Hinata began to say. Jiraiya decided to step in to save the girl from embarrassment, turning his attention to the older blond man.

"That's unimportant right now. What I want to know is why a Sage," here, Jiraiya motioned to the Sage coat worn over Asura's shoulders, "Would be, as you claim, 'taking a leisurely stroll through the forest'?"

Asura waved his concerns away dismissively, ignoring the way both Naruto and Hinata were looking at him with interest now.

"Ah, how can you understand my will when my will does not understand me?" Asura narrowed his eyes, grinning from ear to ear. "What shall I do with my time, when time has no desire for me? Rather, should I not be grateful for the time given to me?"

_Huh_, thought Jiraiya, narrowing his eyes, _so, he's trying to ignore the answer by relying on wordplay to confuse his listeners._

"Eh?" exclaimed Naruto, with a clearly confused expression on his face. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Everyone looked at the blond boy with a deadpan expression on all their faces, even the man introduced as Asura.

Jiraiya chuckled. _It's not supposed to mean a damn thing. _Actually, if it had a meaning, the message was probably a big "Screw you, I ain't telling you crap!"

Asura began chuckling, surprising the other three, before the older blond removed the giant scroll from his back and unfurled it, quickly finding one particular seal.

"Kai!" with this cry, Asura unsealed a small, nondescript scroll. After shrugging the giant scroll back onto his own shoulders, Asura then turned to Naruto and tossed the younger blond the small scroll.

"Eh?" Naruto wondered, catching the small scroll. "What's this?"

"I like you, kid," Asura said with a small, completely welcoming smile, that was only marred by the sadness in his blue gaze. "That's a present from Sage to Pupil…"

"Eh?" Naruto wondered, and that was followed by the confused exclamations of Jiraiya and Hinata. "What's that –" Naruto began to ask.

"Later, kid," said Asura, just before he disappeared in a Yellow Flash.

Jiraiya's eyes widened at the ninjutsu that Asura casually displayed right in front of them, shocked that anyone besides Minato's old Hokage Guard Platoon and disciples would know that technique…what in the world?

"Sugoi! That was awesome!" shouted Naruto.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

What's more, the issue with this chapter was keeping the conversations easy going and the characters free flowing and natural. I'm really trying to keep the story light hearted and humorous, with a bit of seriousness thrown in sparsely to keep the story entertaining and not just pure crack.

Like I said, Asura's had his happy ending before, and he's had a long time to grow and develop as a character, but still the core of his character IS "Naruto" so he still acts very similar to canon-Naruto. Part of that is screwing with people's heads and poking fun at others. And pranks, can't forget the pranks.

Most of this chapter is defined by what I think a canon-Naruto would say or do in the company of his younger self. Especially if they weren't in a hurry to save the world and stop megalomaniacs. Most of this story is about Asura filling in the roles that his younger self needs in his life, while also providing fun and meaningful moral support for everyone around him. He's an easygoing and generally likeable guy, but the goodness in his heart is what defines him as a character and a person, so that's going to be the driving force for this story.

Which is going to make the harem situation funny, because like the situation with my version of canon-Naruto's "happy ending" he doesn't really agree with polygamy, however, it's not like the women in his life are going to give him the option of monogamy. You'll see what I mean eventually. That lucky bastard…

Anyways, as always, leave me a review with your thoughts on this chapter.

Ta.

Professor Image.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Naruto franchise. The Naruto franchise is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. The only things that I own are original characters, original themes, and original plots. I wrote this story with entertainment purposes in mind. I have made no monetary gain off of this work of fiction. Please do not sue.

Summary: Destiny fulfilled, he ventures into another world, not as Naruto Uzumaki, but as Asura, the Legendary Son of the Sage of Six Paths.

Enjoy:

Asura's Legacy: Sage Chronicles

A Naruto Fanfiction by

Professor Image

Chapter VI:

"Hey, Down in Front!"

XXX

Given the fact that his counterpart from this world was already old enough to enter a Three Man Cell, Asura half expected the Uchiha estate to be empty save for a sole remaining member of the once proud clan. Instead, what he found as he overlooked the clan compound from one of its boundary walls was a bustling little complex filled with men, women, and children that, while deeply affected by some distant tragedy, were relatively happy regardless.

_I…wasn't expecting this,_ Asura thought in a panic. After the initial shock wore off, the blond man's ninja training kicked in and a sense of calm settled over his frantic thoughts and warring emotions. Without any real thought of what he was doing, the second heir of the Rikudou Sennin's Will began collecting Natural Energy from the Earth around him, thereby entering Sage Mode and allowing him to take in all of the living Uchiha clan members inside the complex with his chakra senses.

_That's…quite a lot, actually…_ Asura thought, closing his eyes in concentration as he counted all the chakra signatures in his head. There must have been close to a hundred living Uchiha. A mere frantic of what the clan once was, but also much more than he had expected to find.

With a start, Asura's golden gaze snapped open as he realized something important… _I don't sense Sasuke!_

Before he even realized what he was doing, he was letting Sage Mode disperse and calling forth his Wind Chakra and launching his body into the very air itself. The chakra control and chakra reserves needed to fly with just Wind Chakra were unthinkable for most Shinobi, but Asura wasn't a normal Shinobi in the least…

A single minute later and Asura was landing soundlessly on the roof of the house that he knew belonged to Sasuke's family. A quick observation of the grounds later with his Byakugan eyes found three individuals inside the household.

"Ano…nee-chan, are you sure that I should wear this at the Team Assignments?" a bashful voice asked quietly. Immediately, Asura zeroed in on the source of the voice, spotting the two young women standing in one of the smaller rooms in the household.

"Fufufufu, of course, Satsuki-chan," the taller and much shapelier woman answered, gesturing aggressively in the younger girl's direction. "With the Uchiha clan in such a dire situation as it is, it falls to the rest of us to find strong husbands and wives to strengthen the clan as a whole!"

"Ano…but isn't this a bit…much?" the younger girl blushed from head to toe, lowering her head into the high collar of her outfit. Indeed, the girl had every right to be embarrassed, as the outfit could barely even be called a bikini. It was to Satsuki's infinite embarrassment that the outfit the older girl had her wear consisted of a large coat buckled at the collar but open and exposing the very short skirt that she wore and a stomach and cleavage revealing top that completed the outfit.

"Nonsense!" the older woman claimed, slashing her hand with finality. "As an Uchiha you have nothing to be ashamed of! As Uchiha women we are at the pinnacle of feminine beauty; to be ashamed of your own body is to spit on the pride of our clan! It is perfectly acceptable to take pride in that beauty and use it to seek a desirable husband, is it not?" the older woman claimed.

"Itsuko-chan, please stop teasing your sister," a kind voice said from the open doorway, and as Asura turned his attention to the door, he saw that the new presence was an older woman that was similar enough to the two girls that it was undeniable that she was their mother. Likewise, the woman was just as beautiful as her two daughters.

"There is no need to shelter Satsuki-chan, kaa-sama!" Itsuko cried passionately, pumping her fist theatrically. "As the last of the main branch of the Uchiha clan and the heirs of our clan, it is our duty to find powerful and handsome husbands! With so few males left in the clan, is it not reasonable to assume that we would seek husbands from other sources!" she decried. Hearing that, their mother raised a hand in front of her mouth in amusement.

"Is that why you've been bothering poor Kakashi-kun?" the older woman asked simply in reply. Immediately at that utterance, "Itsuko" lowered her head, trying to hide her own furious blush.

"I…that is to say…umm…" Itsuko stuttered, too embarrassed, it seemed, to speak her mind. From beside the older girl, Satsuki blinked in surprise at her sister.

"Nee-chan, don't tell me that you have a crush on Kakashi-nii-chan?" the younger girl asked the older. At this question, Itsuko whirled around with a frantic expression on her face, her cheeks burning hot with her embarrassment.

"I…you don't…Don't try and confuse your sister, Satsuki-chan!" Itsuko shouted, waving her arms frantically. Watching this, their mother began giggling loudly.

"Fufufufu," their mother laughed, a mirror copy of her daughter, "To think that I would raise two daughters with such ambitions!" she cried, causing her daughters to lower their heads in embarrassment. "However, your convictions are still weak! How many times have I told you two: if you have an interest in a man you must boldly proclaim your intentions and show him why you are the perfect woman for him!" she cried, passionately pumping her own fist into the air.

"Kaa-sama!" chorused both girls, looking deeply motivated with emotional tears running down their faces, something that made the watching Asura sweat drop.

"Listen to one who has lost in the race of love, my daughters!" their mother nodded with sagely advance. "In matters of love and marriage, do not leave anything to luck and chance! Do not give your enemy's even an inch to dig their claws in, and certainly do not show them even a moment of weakness!"

"Hai, kaa-sama!" both daughters cried.

So distracted was Asura by the odd scene that he had stumbled upon that he didn't react even when a softball went flying into the rooftop under his feet. The sudden jarring action sent the shingles on the roof scattering, which made the old war hero lose his footing, and with a surprised cry he toppled off the roof.

"Did you hear something?" Asura heard the mother of the two Uchiha girls ask, followed soon by footsteps. Asura had landed on his backside underneath the walkway just outside of the main living area of the house, so as the mother's head peeked over the railing lining the main walkway the blond held himself absolutely still to avoid notice…which, come to think of it, really didn't matter, since he could technically use Kamui or the Hiraishin Jikukan ninjutsu to teleport out of the Uchiha compound, but it was instinctual for him to freeze up when faced with the possibility of righteous feminine fury.

"Who is there?" the mother shouted out into the yard. There was no answer given from beyond the wall, so the mother began to cautiously examine the walkway for any signs of an intruder. As she took a step forward, her feet touched a hard object, and when she bent down she found that the object was a softball. She picked up the softball and regarded it silently for several moments, before smiling.

"Utkata-kun and his friends must be playing ball again," she turned her head to the roof, frowning when she saw the damage done to her home. "I'll have to tell their mothers about this, though. It is fine for those boys to be active in these days, but when they start damaging other people's homes…well," here, the mother sighed and tossed the softball over her shoulder off the walkway.

Asura almost sighed in relief as he heard the mother turn to walk away, when the softball came down hard on his head. "Ite!" cried he.

"Who is there!" shouted the mother, jumping over the railing of the walkway and just so happening to land onto Asura, his hard body and sudden appearance causing her to lose her footing and fall down onto his face, making the blond man grunt in pain. "Eh?" the Uchiha mother cried, noticing who and what she had landed on.

"Eh…blue?" Asura thought aloud, seeing what was sitting on his face. At those words, the Uchiha cried out in righteous fury, standing up so she could stomp on the pervert who had invaded her home.

"Hentai!" that cry saw Itsuko and Satsuki poking their heads out of the main hall, to see that their mother was standing on the grounds and beating a blond man into a pulp with an embarrassed expression on her face.

"Ano…kaa-sama sure seems angry…I wonder what Hentai-san did to make her angry," Satsuki wondered aloud. At that, Itsuko just shook her head knowingly.

"You don't want to know," Itsuko advised, shivering at her mother's feminine fury. It was the rule of thumb that all females got violent when confronted with a pervert, even relatively docile ones like their mother.

After a particularly violent beating where all three Uchiha women ignored just _why_ a strange man would be spying on them in their household, the mother took a breather, panting heavily as she stalked away. At that very same moment, Asura stood back up, looking no worse for wear then he had moments before the beating itself.

"Ano…" Asura laughed, scratching at his cheek, and making the mother whirl around angrily with a blank look on her face. "Sorry 'bout that. I don't suppose that you'd take my word for it that I wasn't intending to spy on you, do you?" at the way the three Uchiha were shaking their heads, Asura laughed nervously, holding up his hands in what he hoped was a nonthreatening gesture. "I'm serious! I wasn't trying to spy on you three, I was just looking for someone…" he explained. At that, the three Uchiha seemed to gather their wits.

"Is that so…?" the mother narrowed her eyes, turning fully to the blond man that had invaded her family's privacy, choosing to ignore the fact that the man looked so much like Minato Namikaze that it was almost painful. "And just who were you expecting to find at my home?" at that, Asura rubbed the back of his head with his right hand, giving the three Uchiha women a nervous kitsune smile.

"Ahahaha, um…you wouldn't happen to know a Sasuke Uchiha, would you?" Asura asked them. The blank stare that he received from all three women was answer enough. Hanging his head with a dejected storm cloud hanging over him, Asura mumbled, "I was afraid you'd say that…"

The woman took in his appearance and the sincerely dejected aura that clung to him from the moment that she had answered his question; thus the mother decided to be a bit more understanding and forgive the perceived slight to her honor as an Uchiha. At the same time she took in the presence of his Sage Cloak and the Traditional Uzumaki symbol on his Hitai-ate. Deciding to offer a truce, the mother spoke up.

"My name is Mikoto Uchiha, and these are my daughters: Itsuko Uchiha," she pointed at the older girl that looked to be in her late teens and early twenties, "and Satsuki Uchiha," and here she pointed at the younger girl, the one that appeared to be in her early teens. Then she made a grand gesture by pointing to Asura. "Now…who are you?" she demanded.

Asura opened his mouth several times mutely, trying to form a response. It wasn't lost to him who this woman was: in his world she was the mother of his best friend and brother in all but blood, Sasuke Uchiha. Taking that fact in, Asura glanced to Itsuko and Satsuki and blanched.

_Well, crap…_

In answer to his frantic thoughts, the Shinju awoke from deep in his conscious, took a look at his recent memories, and then busted out laughing.

_Screw you, asshole!_

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

This chapter was mostly made for comic relief and to make it as much as an anime as possible. A big thing that I've noticed about anime, specifically shonen anime, is how the females of the anime could be particularly violent to men that they perceive as perverts. Because of that, I tried to mirror that aspect in this chapter. That doesn't make Mikoto, Itsuko or Satsuki bad or abusive, it actually just makes them the byproducts of a Japanese cartoon and comic book series. Some of my readers I know have a problem with women acting like that in anime, I know, but I'm assuring you that they usually aren't like that. It's just very suspicious for a man to be spying on their home, and so they'd naturally jump to conclusions, especially since Asura was placed into such a compromising situation as that with Mikoto.

They'll be a lot better, though, down the road. It's kind of a rough start right now, but they'll be much more understanding and accepting then many of the girls and women in the canon Naruto series. Especially, as you've seen, all the Uchiha women are pretty crazy and have their own vices.

As I told VFSNAKE, I hate canon Sasuke, so if I write for Sasuke, either male (canon) or female (AU), then I'm going to write them how "I" want to write them. Because of that, a lot of people are going to say that Satsuki and Itsuko are OOC, but really they are not. They are written the way "I" think female versions of Sasuke and Itachi would act when raised by a single mother who has survived the massacre of her clan.

On that note, I'm sure you've all realized it at this point, but, yes, Itsuko didn't massacre her clan. In canon, the clan's massacre falls to Itachi, Obito, and Danzo. Obviously with the fact that Rin is still alive and Itsuko is still in the village, everyone must realize that those three are no longer factors to the extinction of the Uchiha clan. However, don't worry yourselves about who is pulling the strings in this world right now, because that will be revealed in due time.

Finally, I have to say this: I'm not writing the chapters to a set length, I'm writing them to what I feel is the appropriate length of each chapter. Depending on the flow and substance of each chapter determines when and where I stop each chapter. Because of that, some chapters are longer than others.

Eventually the chapters WILL get longer, but right now I'm mostly just setting up the story, so the chapters are short. Around the time that canon Sasuke appears is about when I think the chapters will start getting longer.

Anyways, as always, leave me with a review of your thoughts on this chapter, please!

Ta.

Professor Image.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Naruto franchise. The Naruto franchise is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. The only things that I own are original characters, original themes, and original plots. I wrote this story with entertainment purposes in mind. I have made no monetary gain off of this work of fiction. Please do not sue.

Summary: Destiny fulfilled, he ventures into another world, not as Naruto Uzumaki, but as Asura, the Legendary Son of the Sage of Six Paths.

Enjoy:

Asura's Legacy: Sage Chronicles

A Naruto Fanfiction by

Professor Image

Chapter VII:

"Let's Try that Again, Shall We?"

XXX

The cup that Mikoto passed him was steaming, the tea still warm from the kettle. Apparently, she had placed a kettle on before seeing her daughters and then stumbling into him.

"I see! So, you _are_ Asura!" exclaimed the mother, sitting down in the seat opposite him. With the introductions done, the dark haired woman narrowed her eyes at her uninvited guest, saying, "You have made life very difficult for Hokage-sama, haven't you?"

As he blew at his tea, Asura couldn't help his small smirk.

"You will find that I am exceedingly good at that," he assured her. After saying his piece, he took a small and tentative sip of his cup of tea. "This is very good," he complimented.

Mikoto smirked, leaning in to whisper, "You know that Hokage-sama will not like the fact that the mysterious Asura-san is a peeking hentai," she sat back, raising her hand to her mouth in a demure gesture that belied the suggestive tone in her voice. "I wonder what Hentai-san will do if Hokage-sama decides to teach him a lesson." Hearing this, Asura couldn't help but snort.

"You are an especially cruel woman, you know that?" Asura closed his eyes, his smile stretching into the smirk of a kitsune, daring her to tempt his wrath. "What makes you think that Tsunade could ever harm me?"

At that, Mikoto giggled. "Fufufufu, you are such a bold man…but aren't you forgetting that 'I' have already beaten you?" at her question, Asura waved away the Uchiha's words with a casual dismissive gesture.

"That's different," he argued, setting his cup of tea down and slapping his knee, "You may have caught me by surprise, but I can assure you that Tsunade will not."

"Ara, ara; such a brave man you are!" Mikoto gushed, the suggestive tone in her voice making it obvious that she wasn't sincere.

Asura halfheartedly glared at the woman. It had been quite a while since he last had a verbal spar with a woman, especially one who could keep him on his toes like Mikoto Uchiha. The last time he could remember being teased and tormented like this was whenever Anko decided to "play" with him. This was certainly interesting.

"Don't confuse my confidence for bravado, Uchiha-hime," Asura declared, smacking his right hand into his open-left's palm. "I can assure you that I am more than capable of taking care of myself…"

"Fufufu…Hentai-san sure is serious," Asura could see that the Uchiha matriarch was smiling behind the hand in front of her mouth.

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, the mature woman's face settled into a serious expression as she readjusted her sitting position into the proper stance for a lady of her state. "I apologize, Asura-san, if I've offended you," she bowed her head slightly to show her sincerity. "I'm afraid that I was having too much fun teasing you to act like a proper lady of the Uchiha clan."

For a second, Asura was too caught up by surprise to react properly, recognizing the subservient way that Mikoto held her head down lower than him and the way she adverted her eyes. He was familiar with that look since the women of the Hyuuga clan were raised to be subservient to males; it had taken most of Hinata's first lifetime for him to help her break that conditioning, and it only worked because the Hyuuga girl had been surrounded by her fellow sister-wives who were quite willful in their own rights and didn't tolerate that male superiority bull crap.

It took a moment for him to adapt to the sudden shift in their conversation, as he felt almost as if he suffered from whiplash because of the dark haired woman's sudden shift in mood and personality. Ultimately, he found himself speaking his mind, which was typical kind of response for him.

"Geez…" he held a hand to his face because of how uncomfortable he was with the strict and proper apology, "Ano…don't worry about it, Uchiha-hime. I was actually enjoying myself, believe it or not…" he gave a short laugh before sighing.

Mikoto considered his words for a moment, before glancing to his face. After judging his sincerity, the Uchiha matriarch smiled and sat up in a more relaxed stance, reminiscent of her earlier attitude. "Thank you, Asura-san," then her smile stretched her face, becoming that teasing expression that he had grown familiar with in the short time since he had met her, "Ano… I mean, Hentai-san…"

_Shikamaru is right,_ Asura winced at the woman's nickname for him; _women are so damn troublesome…_

"So…what made you decide to be all nice and proper so suddenly?" questioned Asura. Mikoto inclined her head to him, before picking up her own tea cup and trying to cool it down by blowing on it.

Taking a sip of her tea with a serene expression on her face, Mikoto thought about how to answer the man. Finally, with a sigh, she set down her own tea cup and opened her eyes to lock her dark gaze with his azure.

"I noticed it immediately," Mikoto explained, resisting the urge to tease the man more. It felt so easy to do so in his presence; he had a very familiar presence about him that made the mature woman act in a way that very few people outside her clan had the pleasure (or misfortune) of seeing for themselves. "You remind me very much of a dear friend of mine…she's dead, now, so when you first started talking I couldn't help but react the way I would with her…" she explained. Hearing this, Asura inwardly frowned.

Of course he knew which dear friend it was that Mikoto was talking about; in his old world he had eventually found out that his mother, Kushina Uzumaki was Sasuke's godmother, and that Mikoto was _his_ godmother. One would think that Tsunade would have been his godmother, considering that Jiraiya was his godfather, but Kushina hadn't been close friends with the last of the Senju clan like she had been with Mikoto. As far as he knew, Mikoto and Kushina had been best friends even from before their days in the academy together.

Everyone always _did_ claim that while he looked a lot like his father, Minato, that he acted more like his mother, Kushina…

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Asura, because there really was nothing more to be said. Even despite Mikoto's excellent poker face, it was obvious that she was still traumatized by the death of her best friend.

"Don't be," said Mikoto, smiling gently. He got the feeling that Mikoto was used to wearing many different masks around others. Even her mask of quiet suffering belied the true depths of her pain. He could see it in her eyes.

"It's funny," said Mikoto, closing her eyes and sighing. "I don't really understand it, but a part of me already thinks of you as a friend. You are so much like my friend Kushina that it is almost painful…and then," she opened her eyes, dark gazing into blue, again, "You look so much like _him_ that I actually do feel pain."

That was new, Asura thought. Why would the fact that he looked like Minato cause Mikoto physical pain?

Mikoto shut her eyes, her inner eye viewing each of the memories that she didn't wish to see because she feared that they would make her a bitter and spiteful woman.

"Not many know it, but while Kushina and I were best friends, we were also rivals…of love," Mikoto explained to the shell shocked man watching her open her heart and wounds to him. It was surprising that Mikoto would trust this stranger with her troubled past, but some part of her felt as if it was natural to show this vulnerable side of herself to Asura.

"Rivals…of love?" wondered Asura. "You can't mean…?" he began to say. Hearing where his thoughts were leading him to, Mikoto nodded.

"Hai…Kushina and I were in love with the same man; Minato Namikaze, the man who would become the Yondaime Hokage," Mikoto told him. It took every ounce of self-control for Asura to keep from hyperventilating.

Instead, he asked, "Why are you telling me this?" Hearing the question, Mikoto locked her dark gaze with the man's azure orbs, trying to convey her seriousness in one look.

"I…don't know," feeling frustrated at herself, Mikoto brushed her hand through her bangs, her eyes shut tightly as she tried to collect her frantic thoughts. Finally, she spoke. "You remind me of the both of them. You look a lot like him, but you act like her. It's confusing…and for some reason I feel as if I can trust you…"

Asura understood. Since he was the son of her best friend and acted a lot like Kushina and looked a lot like his father, Minato, naturally Mikoto would feel more at ease around his presence than around the presence of others. Asura also remembered how so many people in his old world claimed that he had a natural magnetism that drew them to him, so that they would open up regardless of how tightly they would hold onto their secrets normally. Mikoto was probably feeling a bit of both reasons, which would prompt her to open up to him.

"I…see," said Asura.

They sat in relatively companionable silence for the next several minutes, Mikoto lost in her memories and Asura watching the suffering woman cautiously. He'd seen how the death of a loved one affected people before, and though he didn't understand why Mikoto would give up on his father and let his mother marry the man the Uchiha loved, or just how truly devastated she was by both his parents' deaths, Asura was content to let her take as much time as she needed to collect herself.

"I…love my daughters," was what Mikoto finally said, glancing back to look him in the eyes again. Flushing in embarrassment at her own utterance, Mikoto no less decided to explain herself; "They are perhaps the only good thing that came from my marriage to Fugaku…"

Asura couldn't help but ask; "Do you ever regret giving up on Minato?"

Mikoto's silently suffering smile was both immensely beautiful and tragic. When she spoke, though, it was without any pain in her voice. "No; because my daughters would have never been born, then…" Asura could certainly respect that fortitude. As pained as she was by the fact that she had to give up Minato in the first place, she still didn't regret her decision because of what she gained from it in the first place…her children.

"I can understand why Shizune was so taken in by you," said Mikoto, smiling softly. "That calming aura and the feeling of complete acceptance that you give off is quite fetching…" Mikoto's smile suddenly became coy, "You must be quite the lady killer, _Hentai-san_," as she said this, Mikoto raised her hand in front of her face again, giving her teasing giggle again.

Asura couldn't help but smile, glad to see that Mikoto had apparently recovered from her bout of melancholy. He didn't know her all that well, and she didn't know him, but he got the feeling from their short conversation that he'd _like _to know her.

"I don't know," his smile stretched, becoming his customary kitsune smile, "Do you want to find out?" he flirted back.

There was a thumping sound just out in the hallway past the door. Almost immediately, Mikoto was jumping to her feet and throwing open the door to find their eavesdroppers face down on the floor.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Satsuki, Itsuko? Don't listen in on your kaa-sama's private conversations!" Mikoto roared, charging after her children.

Even as Asura sweat dropped at the scene between mother and children of the Uchiha family, Asura couldn't help but be pleased. However, he knew even as he listened to Mikoto chase her daughters, that he'd have to contact Sasuke soon…

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

This is another one of those chapters that got away with me. While writing this chapter I became consumed with the multiple levels to Mikoto's personality, and devoted my time to trying to break her character down so that you and I could understand just who she is as a person and a character.

Obviously, Mikoto still has depths that we haven't even begun to see, yet. However, this chapter provided nice hints to who she is as a character and a person. Some people might be confused why she would open up to Asura, but it really comes down to three things: Asura's personality, Asura's appearance, and the way that Asura tends to get people to trust him without trying. Mikoto just wasn't prepared to so suddenly trust someone like she had Minato and Kushina, and so couldn't stop herself from opening up.

This does not mean that she or Asura have feelings for each other, yet, or if they will at all. Asura is living with the knowledge that she is his godmother and like an aunt to him in his old world, which immediately puts a black mark on his relationship with her that they would have to overcome if either of them wanted to become romantically involved. Secondly, Mikoto is a troubled widow and a single mother trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered family. Neither of them have feelings for each other, even if there's a possibility that they might grow feelings for each other. They just both feel like they could trust each other enough to share some secrets between them.

This chapter is mostly a means to address the oddness of the last chapter. As I have said to several people, the last chapter was mostly for humorous purposes, and so kind of read like a parody. It does actually have a basis in the story, which we've seen a small hint of in this chapter. Think of it as the Uchiha clan's attempts to cope with all the tragedies that they have suffered so far in life.

This chapter shows that they are actually more human and do have problems that they have to work through. Mikoto herself is holding up a strong, happy front for her children so that they can grow up relatively unhindered by the tragedies in the clan, but she's only really half successful. Itsuko and Satsuki are very aware of the problems in the clan, so they wear similar masks to hide their pain.

These will all be addressed in due time, especially once canon Sasuke appears. Everything is going to advance quickly when canon Sasuke appears because events that I have planned for later in the story.

I guess the final thing to explain is the issue with the names. A lot of people have been giving me crap because I'm using the name "Asura" instead of "Ashura". I assure you that I realize this. The reason why I've chosen to use "Asura" instead of the actual Japanese name "Ashura" is because the official English Translation is "Asura", and can be found on the Naruto wiki. I'm using the official English Translations of all names in the story, so character's like Gai will end up being "Guy" because that's just the way that I want to write the story.

For techniques and stuff like that, I mix and match. Japanese just sounds more interesting for a technique's name then English, so if I can find the actual Japanese name for the jutsu then I'm going to use it. If I can't, then I'm just using English.

If you don't like it, then you don't have to read my story. You can leave anytime that you want.

Oh, and I forgot to mention it in the previous few chapters, but I'm still taking suggestions on Asura and Naruto's harems.

Anyways, as always, please leave me with a review of your thoughts on this chapter!

Ta.

Professor Image.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Naruto franchise. The Naruto franchise is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. The only things that I own are original characters, original themes, and original plots. I wrote this story with entertainment purposes in mind. I have made no monetary gain off of this work of fiction. Please do not sue.

Summary: Destiny fulfilled, he ventures into another world, not as Naruto Uzumaki, but as Asura, the Legendary Son of the Sage of Six Paths.

Enjoy:

Asura's Legacy: Sage Chronicles

A Naruto Fanfiction by

Professor Image

Chapter VIII:

"A Matter of Perspective"

XXX

Tsunade was enjoying one of the rare moments of downtime she could get in her otherwise busy schedule for this week by lounging in her office and sipping at a saucer of warm sake. Despite the setbacks of this week, such as the Mizuki incident and the appearance of the Sage only known as "Asura", Tsunade was in a relatively good mood. That good mood all came to an end when she heard a cry from just outside her office.

"Hokage-sama!" the cry was rough, tinged with anger, and came from a person that Tsunade was quite familiar with. One did not just simply forget who Tsume Inuzuka was.

Tsunade sighed, mourning the loss of her peace, and exclaimed loudly to the door, "Let them in!" though she couldn't see them; she knew that at least two of her personal anbu guard had left to greet Tsume and her team.

When the Inuzuka matriarch marched into the office, covered in drying fairy vomit and looking quite ragged with twigs in her hair and slashes in her closes, the first female Hokage of Konohagakure realized something was up…and this thought was followed soon by Tsume opening her mouth to exclaim her fury at her kage.

"That man is a menace! We need to gather every available tracker and anbu team and hunt him down!" Tsume slammed her hands down onto Tsunade's desk, her eyes demanding for justice at whatever perceived slight to her honor that Tsume was talking about. Tsunade just arched her brow.

"I'm going to give you this warning just because we're friends, Tsume; however, I am your _kage_ and you need to treat me as such when asking for a village wide man hunt," Tsunade warned. Tsunade had very few friends from her generation, and Tsume was probably one of her closest from the generation after the Sannin's, so she could afford to give her some leeway. However, other men and women had been stripped completely of their rank and chakra for even speaking half as disrespectful to other kage as Tsume had just done hers.

Before Tsume could spout her mouth off, the Aburame of the group, Dangai, stepped up to halt his team leader's next string of demands: "Of course, Hokage-sama. What Tsume-taicho really wants is to request the gathering of anbu and tracker nins to find a certain suspicious individual…" hearing that, Tsunade arched her other eyebrow.

_Suspicious individual…? _Tsunade thought, narrowing her eyes. "Let me guess," she said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. "He has blond hair; blue eyes; a Sage Coat; and an Uzushiogakure Hitai-ate?"

Tsume growled, mirroring Kuromaru's growl from her side. "That's him…"

Tsunade inwardly cursed, instead hissing, "Asura…"

"Asura?" the Hyuuga, Ichimaru asked while studying the way her body subtlety tensed as was the usual for a member of the Hyuuga clan. Those guys never missed any details.

Tsunade tapped her fingers on her desk, a severely aggravated expression worn on her face as she decided to explain to the team. "Almost two days ago Shizune reported the presence of a suspicious individual in the village named 'Asura'. I'm assuming from your description of this man that you've recently had an encounter with him?" questioned Tsunade. At that question, Kuromaru snorted.

"You got that right," the ninken chuckled.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Tsunade smirked. "Give me your report!"

What followed was the team's description of how they had noticed Asura: ("At first I couldn't really tell a difference between this Asura and anybody else in the library. He was very careful to avoid my attention, however, that was the problem as he was _too_ careful…and then when I looked harder I realized that his chakra network was flowing too actively to be in his normal state, though I hadn't at the time realized that he was in a henge. The flow of his chakra was just too strange to be a normal henge, but when we cornered him in the library he smirked, dropped the henge, and used a shunshin to escape before we could react") and then they described their lengthy chase and brief fight, which had the Hokage's eye twitching.

"Are you telling me…that he beat you three with a combination of clone jutsu, henge jutsu, substitution jutsu, and explosive tags? How do my jounin fall for that?" Tsunade growled. At that, all three jounin blanched.

Deciding to forgo tearing into the three jounin for the moment, Tsunade took a breath and asked, "Please tell me that you three even bothered to learn what he was looking for in the library in the first place?" it wasn't typical of a shinobi from another village to infiltrate another village just to visit the local library. There weren't even any really impressive and ultra-secretive jutsu in the library in the first place. So why would he go there, and not say the Hokage tower or Hokage mansion? Or even one of the clan compounds?

It didn't make sense.

Seeing the way her three jounin were shifting uneasily Tsunade actually did face-palm herself. "You didn't even check, did you?"

Tsume raised her hand, obviously in an effort to defend herself and her team, when they were interrupted by two familiar voices screaming at each other.

"Give it back, Ero-Sennin, that's my Scroll!" Tsunade recognized the voice of her son heading quickly towards her office. It was unusual for him to visit her unless he wanted something; and since he was supposed to be with Jiraiya and from the nickname he used for the person that he was speaking to she could guess who he was following the boy to her office…

Sure enough, another familiar voice answered Naruto. "No, you damn brat! How many times do I have to explain it to you? Don't you think it is suspicious that that man would give this scroll to you? Tsunade-hime will definitely wish to learn about this!" Jiraiya shouted back. Tsunade frowned.

_Now what?_ Tsunade wondered.

Soon enough the two familiar and important men in her lives, her best friend and her son joined her and her best jounin tracker team in the whole village, completely disregarding the anbu guard who were completely a non-threat to her friend.

"What is it, Jiraiya, Naruto-kun?" Tsunade focused her eyes first on her friend and old teammate who was struggling to keep a completely unassuming scroll from her adopted son's hand, then onto the blond boy that she had taken into her home, life and heart nearly from the first time that she had laid eyes onto his chubby baby cheeks with those cute fox like whiskers.

"Kaa-san!" whined Naruto, bounding towards her desk and completely ignoring the jounin team that were there to see the family interact with each other, "Please order Jiraiya to give me back my scroll!" exclaimed he.

"No, you damn brat! Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Jiraiya shouted, gesturing aggressively at the boy with said scroll that the blond child wanted. Naruto's cheeks puffed out in anger, and he stuck out his tongue in a pointlessly childish gesture that was both expected of someone his age and one of those innocent actions of his that made her grateful that she had adopted him before he could really be affected by the hate of his village that was the typical of the lives of jinchuuriki.

"Jiraiya?" questioned Tsunade, turning her attention to her old teammate and wanting to hear what he actually had to say.

Jiraiya glanced to the three jounin and ninken that had watched their conversation so far, coughed, and said to Tsunade, "I think we should have this conversation in private, if you don't mind, Tsunade-hime…"

Tsunade understood. Turning to Tsume and her team, she began to dismiss them. "Alright, you lot, you are dismissed, but I'll be having words with you four about the mistakes you've made later. I'll have one of my anbu message you when I'm ready to speak with you four," after saying her part, Tsunade waved for the three jounin and one ninken to leave.

Left alone in the room with Jiraiya and her son, Tsunade looked back to her old friend, hissing; "Spit it out, Jiraiya."

That was how she learned just how close her son came to the suspicious Asura earlier that day…and what he had given her idiotic child. Her anger and worry were more apparent then she would have liked to show in Naruto's presence; as brain dead as he appeared most of the time, she knew that Naruto could be very observant when around his love ones. Because of that, she didn't like to worry him by showing just how much she feared for his safety.

"Naruto," she finally sighed, turning her eyes to her son who had been quietly watching with his arms folded over his chest and his eyes narrowed as he studied his mother and godfather converse. She was at a loss for what to say, filled with relief that he was apparently okay despite his brush with this mysterious Sage, Asura. Instead, she waved him over; "C'mere…"

Confused as he was by her instruction, he still approached her. When he was within range of her arms he was caught by surprise as she wrapped her arms around him and buried him in a hug. Even as the boy complained into her chest loudly in embarrassment at the show of affection, Tsunade was moving her hands over his body as she ran a diagnostic jutsu just to make sure he was as okay as he looked. When her jutsu showed that he was perfectly healthy and not afflicted by any foreign jutsu she finally let her emotions take control of her actions by burying her face into her son's spiky blond hair with a sniffle and an utterance of: "Thank Kami!"

Tsunade held him like that for several minutes. Normally, she wasn't very good with affection; she was unfortunately emotionally damaged by the deaths of her little brother and former lover, Dan, so she always felt like she could never react like a mother should. Naruto never complained at her distance because he understood how hurt she was, but of course he savored every expression of affection she was comfortable with giving him. However, thinking that the boy was in danger made her unintentionally emotional. It reminded her of her other losses.

As was usual for these emotional scenes, Jiraiya held his tongue as he watched the mother and her adopted son try and comfort each other. Naruto didn't know how much danger he could have been in, but Tsunade did, and Tsunade's discomfort upset her son.

When Tsunade pulled away she took the time to wipe the few tears from her eyes, glad by the fact that when she spoke her voice was still strong.

"You can't keep the scroll, Naruto," she laughed slightly at his pout, and shook her head. "At very least we need to look it over to make sure it isn't dangerous. Okay?" she asked. Naruto sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Fine," he accepted her terms.

Jiraiya soon led Naruto out of her office to continue his training, leaving the scroll sitting innocently on her desk. After having her anbu carefully place the scroll into her chakra neutralizing safe in the far back of the room so that any seals that could be on it wouldn't activate without first being removed from the safe, Tsunade turned to her window, noticing the dark clouds gathering to block out the evening sun.

_It's going to rain, soon_, Tsunade thought, worrying despite the fact that she was doing all that she could to assure herself that there was no reason to worry.

Tsunade's quiet musings were interrupted a final time that day by another familiar presence. The entrance of Mikoto Uchiha was surprising, but welcome. In the early days after Naruto's birth and the death of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki , the Sandaime Hokage had done all he could to convince the Uchiha matriarch that Naruto wasn't Minato and Kushina's child. That had gone out the window when Tsunade was inaugurated and saw Hiruzen's suspicions of the Uchiha clan as foolish, and went out of her way to meet with Mikoto and explain that the woman's suspicions about Naruto's lineage were correct and just why Hiruzen didn't wish for the Uchiha clan to know who the boy's family was. Mikoto of course had been furious with Tsunade's sensei, but understood. Everyone was suspicious about who could send the Kyuubi to attack the village.

In the years following her adoption of Naruto, Mikoto had become a very valuable friend and ally to Tsunade, the both of them often meeting to talk about Minato and Kushina and what Naruto was doing currently. That was why Tsunade knew something had happened the very moment that Mikoto stepped into the room, because all the stress and sadness that Tsunade had come to see as Mikoto's typical mood had suddenly evaporated and left the Uchiha strangely happy and relaxed.

"Mikoto," Tsunade nodded her greeting to the Matriarch of the Uchiha clan. Mikoto's smile was gentle and didn't hold any of the false happiness that Tsunade was used to seeing on her friend's face.

"Chichi-Kage-sama," Mikoto greeted, as was her usual greeting. Tsunade was surprised at the sincerity in the dark haired woman's taunt. Tsunade couldn't help but smirk.

"You seem in an awfully good mood today," Tsunade mentioned, retrieving a second saucer for her company and pouring some more sake. "Did you finally sink your claws into a man, Mikoto?"

Mikoto gave an indefinite hum, holding her hand to her cheek as she watched Tsunade pour sake into the saucer.

"Seeing how suspicious you were of his presence, I decided that I should be the one to tell you that he visited me and my family today," Mikoto explained to the confused Hokage.

As Tsunade passed her friend the saucer of sake, she couldn't help asking, "Who?"

"Remember the Sage that you told me about yesterday?" Mikoto mentioned their meeting the previous day, causing Tsunade to twitch in growing aggravation at what her friend would say next. "Well, this Asura visited my family today. It was quite a… unique experience…" she sighed.

Tsunade frowned, taking a sip of her own sake. _Even Mikoto has been visited by him…damn, he seems quite active…_

"So?" Tsunade laid her saucer of sake down, and leaned back in her chair. "What did you think of him?" as a ninja and specifically a kunoichi, Tsunade would see every conversation as a means to gather intelligence.

"He is quite a pleasant man," Mikoto placed her saucer of sake to her own lips and took a sip. Setting it down, she continued, "He reminded me a lot of Kushina and Minato…"

"I see," Tsunade nodded, motioning her friend to continue, "And how did you two meet?"

"That," Mikoto said with a small laugh, placing her hand into her lap as she crossed her legs, "Is a strange experience to share…" she shook her head. When Tsunade asked her to continue, Mikoto smiled pleasantly. "Believe it or not, he was apparently looking for someone…"

"Someone in the Uchiha clan, I presume?" Tsunade wondered. Mikoto giggled, holding a hand to her mouth and nodding.

"Hai," seeming to consider the situation seriously, Mikto placed her hand back into her lap and locked eyes with her kage. "He was looking for a Sasuke Uchiha, you see? That is what surprised me…"

"What do you mean?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Do you know the man he was looking for?"

Mikoto frowned, her stance shifting to show her confusion. "I'm not really sure. You see, not many know it, but before Fugaku and I knew that Satsuki was going to be born a girl we had been planning to name her after the Sandaime Hokage's father…" Tsunade drew a breath in surprise.

"Sasuke…Uchiha?" Tsunade wondered. Confused, she asked, "What are you saying?"

"I don't know, Hokage-sama," it was a testament to how serious the conversation was that Mikoto would refer to Tsunade by her proper title even during their private conversation. "However, when speaking with him I realized just how…out of place he seemed…" she told the kage. Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"In what way?" Tsunade questioned.

"I can't say for certain, but he seemed…odd…not in the sense that there is anything wrong with him, but just how unusual he appears…like he comes from another time, another place…" Mikoto tried to explain the feeling to the other woman.

"Like he doesn't belong in this world…" another familiar voice interrupted their conversation. Tsunade didn't twitch, having long since noticed him approaching her office.

"Jiraiya-sama," Mikoto greeted, shifting easily into her mask of nobility and sitting up in the proper straight backed sitting position. Jiraiya threw himself in through the window, sparing the Uchiha a glance, before turning his attention to Tsunade.

"I'm just a Kage Bunshin," he explained to the Hokage. "Taicho made me after taking Naruto to another Training Ground. There was something that he wanted to discuss with you that he couldn't wait on. It seems like Mikoto-chan has beaten me to the punch, though…"

"Asura's oddity?" questioned Tsunade. Jiraiya's shadow clone nodded. Seeing the response, Tsunade motioned him to continue. "What did you notice when you spoke with him, Jiraiya?"

"Not much," the clone explained, shifting uneasily on his feet. "Like Shizune said he doesn't give off a chakra presence, and without one to examine its hard to understand him from just one conversation alone…but something was…off about him…"

"Hai," Mikoto nodded, glancing to Tsunade again. "It was like he wasn't really 'seeing' me, as if, even though I was standing in front of him he was seeing an echo of me…"

"Like he was seeing our ghosts…" Jiraiya agreed…

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

This chapter was devoted to picking apart Asura's character and bringing up questions in Tsunade and her ninja force's minds. That part at the end was my examination of the deductive skills of a ninja. For most of this story, we've seen Asura think heavily on everyone he meets, but he hasn't really appeared all that affected by his past and the losses that he has suffered. This chapter shows that Asura isn't as carefree and happy as he first appears. He hides it well, but an experienced and keen ninja can tell that he is hiding old wounds and horrors.

This whole chapter was pretty much a character study, mostly revolved around Tsunade's interactions with her ninja. As the Hokage, she naturally is supposed to interact with every ninja in the village, so Tsunade has varying masks and ways to treat people.

It's also looking like Tsunade is going to be an important character in this story, though whether she joins Asura's harem or not remains to be seen. I'm partial to it myself since I'm a huge Naruto/Tsunade shipper, but I recognize the difficulty of that pairing in most fanfiction. Rest assured that if I decide to have Tsunade join Asura's harem I won't suddenly have Asura magically forget the fact that she was the grandmother figure in his own life. If I pair her with him I'm going to spend a long time developing their relationship so that they can get over the black mark that Asura would no doubt place on their interactions because of his previous bond with his own Tsunade.

Trust me; I'm considering every possibility for the girls and women who can join Asura and Naruto's harems. If I can't see a way to make it work in this story, then I'm not going to force it.

That being said, I'm not a fan of the anime. I only really read the manga. Though I have been watching the anime recently, it is slow going because the only good things about the filler are the hot girls and women introduced.

I'm still taking suggestions for Asura and Naruto's harems, though, and will continue to until I specifically say I won't anymore. I'm not basing this off a voting system where the gals with the most suggestions win. Instead, I actually want to hear WHY my readers think a girl or woman should join Asura and Naruto's harems beyond "because they are hot" because that doesn't really say anything about who they are as a person and a character and I truthfully don't believe that Asura and Naruto would let a girl or woman join their harems just because of appearance alone.

Anyways, that's enough of that.

Leave me with a review of your thoughts on this chapter, please.

Ta.

Professor Image.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Naruto franchise. The Naruto franchise is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. The only things that I own are original characters, original themes, and original plots. I wrote this story with entertainment purposes in mind. I have made no monetary gain off of this work of fiction. Please do not sue.

Summary: Destiny fulfilled, he ventures into another world, not as Naruto Uzumaki, but as Asura, the Legendary Son of the Sage of Six Paths.

Enjoy:

Asura's Legacy: Sage Chronicles

A Naruto Fanfiction by

Professor Image

Chapter IX:

"I give you what you need"

XXX

Everyone had their preconceptions about Naruto Uzumaki, adopted son of Tsunade Senju, the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. To the adult civilians of the village he was a barely tolerate curse, the bane of their existence. To the ninja corps, he was both a threat and a viable weapon. And to his peers, the children of the village, Naruto was both an annoyance and a product of much confusion.

Why _did_ the Godaime Hokage adopt an apparently nameless, completely ordinary child?

To his peers, Naruto was completely normal, not at all like the elite shinobi that they expected him to be. He was a goofball, and jokester, but he still made better grades than the lower end of the academy students, such as the Inuzuka, the Nara and the Akimichi heirs. However, he showed none of the natural talent that they would expect from a child raised by a kage.

This wasn't exactly the boy's fault. His adopted mother, Tsunade, and her teammate and sensei, Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi were all very protective of him. Tsunade was in no hurry to see him put on active ninja duty and put in immediate danger, and Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi were in no mood to question her mothering actions.

However, Tsunade hadn't let the boy laze about for thirteen years regardless of her personal desire not to see him placed in harm's way. She let him get by on his shoddy paperwork so long as he took the lessons that she imparted to him seriously and mastered each one. The trouble with this was that the boy's biggest obstacle in his ninja career was his terrible chakra control. Since Tsunade was a medical ninja, who prided themselves on their masterful chakra control, she was able to guide the boy to fix his control over the years.

As a result, Naruto had graduated from the Ninja Academy with better chakra control than most chunin nearly a dozen years his senior.

Even the bunshin jutsu was doable these days, though he wasn't likely to be able to spam them as he could his Henge, Kawarimi, and his escape jutsu. He even knew a few fire and water jutsu from the times that Shizune had managed to force him to the library to study.

Physically, he was the fittest student of his generation, fine tuning his chakra control and taijutsu to make his body much stronger than its short stature and thin frame would suggest.

Mentally, most subjects in the core curriculum eluded. The only things that he could pick up with any amount of ease was medical jutsu, as he had grown an appreciation for Iryo jutsu due to growing up under the care of his mother and older sister figure. While logically, things like math and science and history and language shouldn't be an issue with him, he instead found himself hyper focusing on the medical practices to the point that all else was filtered from his mind.

Unfortunately, his chakra control was nowhere near what it needed to be for him to truly study Iryo Ninjutsu. The best he could accomplish was a simple diagnostic jutsu. His mother didn't want him to get his hopes up, but Naruto was determined to follow in her footsteps.

Augmenting his terrible chakra control, Naruto knew much more about human and animal anatomy than most other Iryo ninja. He had even fashioned his own taijutsu style that focused on attacking his opponent's pressure points by using his knowledge of anatomy. His knowledge of medicinal herbs and drug creation was unparalleled, and he was quite handy in non-chakra augmented surgery, at least in his own humble opinion. Let it not be pointed out to him that he had never actually operated on a human being before, and had only had the good fortune of working together with the Inuzuka clan in one of the Veterinary clinic in the last three years.

The point of the matter was, anything that didn't involve medical ninjutsu went through one ear and out the other.

He might not even have understood the concept of summoning jutsu if it wasn't for the fact that he had previously signed his mother's Slug contract. With Jiraiya's Toad contract now signed he was one of the very rare few humans who were lucky enough to possess more than one summoning contract under their belt, and he was one of the even rarer ninja in history to have signed two of the greater ninja animal contracts. He was lucky that the Slugs and the Toads were on such good terms that they didn't mind him having dual contracts.

Naruto was also very eager to learn; even if most of the time what he learned went completely over his head. That was why he was so angry when Jiraiya took the scroll that the mysterious man named Asura gave him. Even if he understood why Jiraiya and Tsunade were so worried about the man's intentions Naruto strangely felt that their concerns were unwarranted.

Something about the way the man had looked at him had left the teenager feeling as if he could trust the older blond shinobi.

In the end it didn't matter about his complaints, Tsunade had Jiraiya and an anbu black ops team look over the scroll for any dangerous fuinjutsu. In the meantime, Naruto had pretty much been left to his own devices.

Naruto had complained to the Ichiraku family while eating a few times, but there really was no heat to his arguments, and he had gone out of his way to teach the Henge to his "rival", the grandson of the Sandaime: a boy named Konohamaru Sarutobi. Eventually, Naruto was left out of things to do, so he eventually found himself visiting the library again.

The boy spent many hours locked away, looking over books for any interesting jutsu, and memorizing word for word the medical textbooks that he had found. Finally, at long last, the boy placed the books that he was reading down onto the table he was sitting at and yawned.

A popping sound split the air, and something smacked into the teenager's forehead, sending the boy crashing to the ground. Sheepishly, Naruto picked himself up from the ground, blushing from head to toe as he heard the Liberian shushing him for his spill.

As he sat up, a weight fell from his head and into his lap. When Naruto looked down he was surprised to see an unfamiliar scroll sitting in his lap, completely unassuming, but emblazoned with a simple swirl that kept the scroll closed.

"Eh?" Naruto blinked, picking the scroll up. "Where did you come from?" he wondered aloud, glancing around the room several times but not spotting anyone suspicious. The Liberian shushed him again, so, giving up the ghost, the child gathered his things and put everything back into their proper order.

_Could it have been an anbu?_ The boy wondered, his hands itching to open the scroll there and then. Instead, he thought better of it, pocketing the scroll and wandering out of the library. His expression contemplative, Naruto wondered who would have sent him this scroll. The two people that came to mind were easy to consider; Jiraiya or Tsunade could have had an anbu team covertly send him a scroll if they so choose to, however that was completely pointless since he wouldn't have known if it was an important must-read scroll if they just had an anbu team throw it at him.

Plausibly, it most likely came from a third party, probably someone who wanted to remain inconspicuous. The first person that came to mind was one that he had only met a couple of times in the few days prior to this moment.

_Who are you?_

The smiling face of Asura appeared in his mind's eye, his expression light and carefree, but the light in his eyes dim and sad. Could he trust such a man?

_Why not? Don't I wear a mask, too?_ He thought in the safety of his own mind. He couldn't help the derisive snort that spilled out of him.

As carefree as Naruto was, as ignorant as he could be, even Naruto knew the way the village viewed him. He figured that if Tsunade had never adopted him than his life would have proven to become much worse than it was currently. However, even still, the way everyone who wasn't close to him looked at him…hurt.

"It's a nice place," a rich voice said quietly from behind the child, and Naruto turned, surprised to find the subject of his thoughts standing there, peering at him with a solemn expression on his face. "You must come here often. I can tell by the way your body language changed when you finally looked down at the village from here."

"You are…Asura," Naruto eventually said, not really answering the other blonde's words. Asura, meanwhile, nodded, stepping up astride the younger blond to look down at the village.

"My home village had a place much like this…once," Asura chuckled, glancing to the boy that was watching him intently. "Eventually, it was destroyed, of course…but it was a nice spot."

"My feet took me here," Naruto explained, stepping away from his fellow blond, not really feeling the need to defend but feeling as if he needed to be ready for the possibility that the other blond would attack. "I like it here."

"This village," Asura mused, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants, and rocking on the balls of his feet. "It sure is peaceful. You'd never guess that it was a ninja village from up here…"

"What do you want?" Naruto finally questioned, losing his own patience at the road about conversation. Asura chuckled, and casually waved his hand. Naruto was surprised to find the weight in his pocket pull out from his pants, the scroll spilling out into open air and jumping into the older blonde's outstretched hand.

"Chakra strings," Asura explained, smiling pleasantly at the way the younger male gaped at the display of ninjutsu. "Puppet Masters usually use them to control puppets, but you can do all sorts of nifty things with them. Takes a ridiculous level of chakra control, though…" he amended. Naruto nodded.

"So…I guessed right, then…you sent that scroll to me in the library?" Naruto questioned. Asura nodded, grinning.

"I've been trying to visit the library for a while now. The scroll that I gave you earlier was a fake. I suspected that Jiraiya and Tsunade would take it from you, so I placed a harmless fuinjutsu seal on it. It's a simple paint bomb, primed to go off when someone tries to investigate the seal," Asura yawned, casually tossing the new scroll to Naruto. "You wouldn't believe how complicated making a paint bomb seal is when you are trying to hide the fact that it is a paint bomb in the first place…"

Naruto awkwardly caught the scroll, staring at the other blond in surprise as he registered the explanation.

"What if Ero-Sennin and Kaa-sama didn't take the scroll?" Naruto asked.

"Then you would have been decorated with paint," Asura shrugged unconcernedly, before shooting his fellow blond a grin. "However, I knew for a fact that they wouldn't let you keep it. It's not in their nature…"

While this expression should immediately set off alarms in the younger male's head, Naruto didn't feel as if the older blond was being intentionally threatening. It actually seemed more like the slip of the tongue than a proper warning.

"You…sure know a lot about Ero-Sennin and Kaa-sama," Naruto said evasively. At this statement, Asura gave an easy shrug.

"What can I say? I know things," Asura grinned.

Naruto decided to ask Asura the question that had been bugging him ever since he had met the other man. "Why are you so intent on giving me this scroll, anyways?"

"Well, as they say," Asura began, reaching out with his arms to fold his hands together and bend his fingers back so that all the joints in his hands popped loudly, "I may not give you what you want; instead, I give you what you need."

"What the hell does that mean!" exclaimed Naruto, waving the scroll at his fellow blond. In answer to this question, a loud belly laugh erupted from Asura's lips while he wiped at his own azure eyes.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Dammit!" Naruto roared impotently. Asura bent over and slapped his knees in his hilarity.

When they had both returned from the moment of incredulity, Naruto set himself down on the edge of the Yondaime's head, while Asura took a seat next to him.

While Asura sighed loudly, loudly proclaiming, "It sure is a nice place," Naruto meanwhile broke the swirl seal on the scroll and opened it so he could read the title of the scroll.

"'How not to Suck at Being a Ninja: by Asura Otsutsuki," read Naruto, while sweat-dropping at the ridiculous title. He could practically feel the grin that the older blond beside him was wearing.

"Go on," Asura encouraged.

Sighing, Naruto unrolled the scroll further, his eyes landing onto the first paragraph in the scroll.

"'Kage Bunshin; or, How to learn everything that you could possibly want…Caution: You'll probably die…' What the hell?" Naruto turned to his grinning watcher.

"Naruto…" Asura said, grinning from ear to ear. "You remind me of a babe."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "What babe?"

"A babe with the power."

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

Sorry about the delay. I've been trying to catch up with the Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden anime. I've only managed to finish the original Naruto anime and get to about midway through season 2 of Shippuden. I'll get back to watching it sometime later this week, probably.

I really wanted to finish the both anime and all the movies before working on this story again, but it's taking too long, and I felt you all deserved an update.

This chapter was very much needed, as several people were concerned that this AU Naruto was pretty much the same as Canon Naruto (Asura). This is my answer to it.

As we've seen, Naruto (AU)'s dream is to become a medical ninja, and his chakra control doesn't suck as much ass as canon Naruto (Asura)'s had, to the point that he can even form regular bunshin. Because of that, he passed the graduation exams without incident, meaning that Mizuki had to rely on someone else to steal the scroll. This means that Naruto (AU) never learned the Kage Bunshin jutsu, which sets everything up for Asura to step in.

The reason why they are so similar is because Naruto just isn't Naruto unless he's a loveable goofball, even if he tends to walk the line of stupid more than awesome most of the time.

Naruto (AU) is just generally more competent than Asura, starting out. He also has a much better social life than pre-canon Naruto ever had, meaning that he developed differently. But still, the core of their characters remains the same.

This chapter was a little more series than I wanted it to become, but I felt it was necessary while writing it. I felt it necessary to show that Naruto (AU) and Asura could be serious when they needed to be, while still being able to switch to their funny sides on the fly.

Eh…don't know how well I managed, though.

As I said, I'm still taking suggestions on Naruto and Asura's harem?

And does anyone want me to make Gaara (AU) female? Because I have a pretty humorous scene in mind for the future if I chose to go that route.

As always, leave me with a review of your thoughts on this chapter.

Ta.

Professor Image.


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